An Unexpected Saviour
by Everyflavourbean24
Summary: An attack on Hermione at a charity event brings Draco Malfoy back into her life. She will soon have to come to terms with what his unexpected act of heroism means for their relationship. Post Hogwarts Dramione. *on hold*
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first fanfic and I must say that I am quite nervous to post it. I hope that you enjoy reading it. It is set after the Battle of Hogwarts and although I have tried to stay true to the events in the original stories, I have changed some minor details in order to suit this story. The main one being that Lavender did not die from Greyback's attack. It's rated M as there is some violence, strong language, and (because no M rated piece would be complete without it) smut. I hope to upload new chapters for you to enjoy regularly. I do try and edit extensively but if an error slips by, please forgive me! I look forward to your reviews! Happy reading!**

Chapter 1

Hermione gazed, unfocused, in the mirror. A small sigh escaped her lips as she closed her eyes and gathered her thoughts. She knew that she shouldn't be so unenthused about attending the ball; it was a charity event after all. Yet part of her was dreading the inevitable camera flashes and intrusive magazine articles that would follow her attendance. Seven years had passed since that fateful day when Voldemort had been defeated by Harry's hand. Seven years in which she had finished her schooling and started a career at the Ministry of Magic in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Through hard work and inter departmental co-operation she had achieved a great deal; yet _Witch Weekly_ was still only interested in deplorably superficial aspects of her life: _Who is she dating? Is she having an affair with Ron? What is she wearing? Has she been using new, experimental sliming charms?_ It was insufferable. Gilderoy Lockhart had been correct when he told Harry that fame was a fickle friend.

"Hermione, are you ready yet?" Ginny's voice floated in from the lounge.

"I'll be out in a minute, Gin. Just finishing up with my hair." she replied, setting down her hair straightener. _Thank Merlin for muggle inventions such as these._ The thought of having to coat her hair with Sleekeazy every time she went to a ball had driven her to invest in one. Living in muggle London had its perks- especially when it came to using electrical devices. Although their reliability during times she used magic was never dependable. She moved to the lounge and gave Ginny a small _what do you think_ gesture.

"You look lovely, Hermione." Ginny smiled. The off-the-shoulder, red dress did make Hermione feel rather devilish and sultry. Rita Skeeter would, most likely, still call her "plain". Along with "heart-breaker" Hermione suspected it was one of the few adjectives the witch knew.

"I do wish you would wear something with short sleeves for a change, though. You have such lovely arms."

Hermione scoffed. "And give the gossip rags an opportunity to write some fluff about how I'm displaying my lovely reminder of Bellatrix for attention? Not a chance, Ginny."

"You really shouldn't let those rags get to you."

"We both know that is easier said than done. Besides, long sleeves or not, I do think this dress makes me look good." She smiled whilst adjusting the slim fitting dress.

Ginny smiled and raised her eyebrows. Hermione answered the gesture by scrunching up her nose. Both witches burst into laughter.

"You'll be strutting around like Malfoy did in school if you don't watch that ego." Ginny teased. They were distracted from their conversation by the small ring alerting her that someone was coming in through the fire place. Ginny glanced at the clock on the wall.

"That will be Harry, coming to escort us to the soiree." Ginny said in an exaggerated upper class accent.

"Ladies, you look lovely." Harry said with a smile, stepping out of the fireplace and brushing some dust off his dress robes. Moving forward, he offered them each a hand which they both accepted with a small curtsey.

"Splendid" he said, mimicking Ginny's earlier accent. "Shall we enter the dragon's den, ladies?"

Hermione was glad that Harry, too, seemed to be somewhat unenthused about the night ahead.

* * *

Hermione returned to their empty table from the dance floor. The others in her party still socialised and danced. The night had been quite enjoyable so far, her arrival at the event notwithstanding. She had danced with Neville for several songs in celebration of his recent appointment as Herbology professor at Hogwarts. He had worked hard since the Battle to achieve the post and Hermione had felt genuine warmth and excitement for Neville when she read the owl he sent her earlier in the week announcing his appointment to the post. She had immediately owled her congratulations and demanded a celebratory dance on the eve of the charity ball. Ever the gentleman, Neville had approached her earlier in the evening and extended a hand whilst he bowed, inviting her to the dance floor.

The silly jig they had done to one of the songs had turned her memory from the overwhelming attention she had received upon arrival. She had been rendered temporarily blind from camera flashes when she greeted Ron with a hug in the entrance area. She worried about the stories that would emerge from that image. Perhaps a piece on how she was attempting to break up Ron's marriage to Lavender. It was laughable really; they hadn't been together for six years, yet people still clung to the notion that they were romantically involved. When one of these stories was published she always felt for them, especially Lavender. Greyback's attack during the Battle of Hogwarts had left her scarred, much in the same manner as Bill had been. Although she never said it, Hermione knew that she hated it when those gossip rags published a picture of her. Lavender had matured since her time at Hogwarts and Hermione had grown to like her. She didn't appreciate being a source of discomfort for Lavender, regardless if it was unintended or not.

She glanced around the room. Very few of those in attendance remained seated. Most were taking advantage of the Weird Sisters playing a rare reunion concert for the event. Her eyes came to rest on a wizard who sat a few tables away. Draco Malfoy turned to see Hermione looking at him and gave her one of his trademark sneers. Although they had to be civil towards each other when their departments worked together, she would never consider them on friendly terms. His beliefs about blood supremacy had faded after the war but Hermione suspected that he still held a grudge about the fact that his marks were constantly second to hers during school. Her punching him in the face during their third year at Hogwarts was, most likely, also a contributing factor to his attitude.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes as she turned to face the wizard who had just slid into the chair next to her. She had expected to see Harry or Ron but instead she was greeted by a vaguely familiar photographer from _Witch Weekly_. Her facial expression soured.

"How did _you_ get in here?" she sneered at him.

"Come now Miss Granger, we can all be friends here. You certainly look like you might want to be more than friends with someone in _that_ dress. Perhaps tonight is the night that you are successful in stealing Mr Weasley away from his poor wife."

Hermione stiffened at his words, feeling an immediate surge of anger towards him.

"Let's get some things straight." she spat at him. "First, I would _never_ do anything to try and ruin Ron's relationship with his wife. They are both dear friends of mine and I am glad that they are happy together." Her hands began to clench into fists as she spoke. "Secondly, Lavender is not some poor woman. She has been through a great deal since the Battle of Hogwarts and has come through it for the better. She has more spine than you will ever have, you snivelling twat!"

The photographer gave a small sneer at her insult but did not move.

"So it's not Weasley then. Perhaps Potter is to be added to your list of conquests?"

Hermione slammed her fists into the table as she stood to leave. She didn't trust herself to stay near the wizard anymore. She shoved his chair as she pushed past him towards the exit. Her outburst would make it into the rag he worked for but she was just too angry to care. Once outside she turned down an alley to put some distance between her and the ball. The alley she turned down was mercifully quiet and free from the prying eyes of reporters and bystanders alike. She leaned against the stone wall and covered her face with her hands. A deep sigh escaped her lips. In the quiet she began to regret her reaction to the photographer's bait. Her words were true but she knew she shouldn't have shown so much anger. Her temper had gotten the better of her.

 _It's not fair!_ she thought to herself. She had given so much of her childhood to saving people like that wizard and how did they thank her? By publishing intrusive fluff and lies about her life. She was an intelligent witch who worked hard to make the wizarding world a better place, yet these rags reduced her to nothing but her body; some floozy bint who wanted to stay in the papers. What made it worse was that there were people who actually believed what was written about her. She still remembered how Molly had been off with her after Rita Skeeter published articles on her and Harry's alleged romance during the Triwizard Tournament.

She was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of footsteps moving towards her in the alley and waited for the flash of a camera or murmured words of someone claiming to be a fan. When neither came she stood up from her position against the wall and turned towards the footsteps. Two hooded figures approached her from the other side of the alley. She made a motion towards her wand and realised she had left it with her bag when she stormed away from the photographer. _Shit._

One of the figures quickly withdrew his wand and pointed it at Hermione, casting a spell in a swift movement. Before Hermione could react she felt the spell hit her and she stumbled back, tripping and falling to the ground. She heard her head crack against the ground, pain radiating from the area of impact. Within seconds of the impact everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Draco lifted yet another glass of firewhiskey to his lips. He wasn't drunk but he always felt better about being at one of these events after a few glasses. It wasn't as good as what he had at the manor, but it did the job. He paused before taking a sip, eyes wandering around the room. He watched Potter twirl the Weaslette on the dance floor. She laughed and casually swept hair from her face. He looked away, rolling his eyes and letting out a snort. _Perfect little Potter. Darling saviour of the wizarding world._ His eyes came to rest on his date for the evening, Astoria Greengrass, dancing with Blaise Zabini. He swallowed his firewhiskey, feeling the liquid burn as it made its way down his throat. Clearly his best friend had stepped in to provide the witch with some entertainment when he had failed to do so. It wasn't that he disliked her; he just didn't want her to get the wrong impression about their relationship. His mother's constant attempts to push the two of them together made it very dangerous for him to show her any sort of uncharacteristic affection. He had only agreed to take the witch to tonight's ball to stop his mother from pestering him on the matter. He knew his mother meant well, but Merlin he wished she would leave him to decide on a wife by himself.

He turned away from the pair and saw Granger looking at him impassively. A mixture of alcohol and boyhood grudges pulled his face into a sneer. He had to be civil with her when their departments at the Ministry worked together but other than that he felt no need to extend any sort of friendship. He no longer saw her as inferior due to her blood, but that didn't mean he had to like her. To him she would remain the same annoying, know-it-all swot she was in school. He scoffed as she rolled her eyes and turned away from him towards a wizard Draco didn't recognise. She stiffened when she saw him. Draco watched as she became more agitated during their exchange. She had clearly not appreciated what the wizard had to say if her abrupt exit from the conversation was any indication. Curiosity, and perhaps firewhiskey, got the better of him and Draco moved from his seat towards the table where Hermione had been seated. The wizard she had been talking to was scribbling down hurried words on a scrap piece of parchment. Draco read snippets over his shoulder:

 _Hermione Granger… previous reports of her seducing Ronald Weasley… did not deny allegations of an attempt to seduce The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter… readers would remember the love triangle she was part of during the Triwizard Tournament… heartbroken Viktor Krum… a taste for famous wizards._

Draco sneered at the man's back. No doubt he was a reporter for some gossip rag. He withdrew his wand and set the parchment alight. The reporter let out a yelp, turning to see who had destroyed his notes.

"Hey! What the fuck do you think you're doing? Those were my work notes!"

"My apologies," Draco drawled back, shrugging casually, "it was simply a slip of the wand."

"Perhaps the readers of _Witch Weekly_ would be interested to read about how the heir to the Malfoy fortune has a tendency towards pyromania during his drunken rampages?" The reporter's eyes had come to rest on Draco's glass of firewhiskey. Draco eyed the wizard with an air of someone having to deal with an unpleasant smell. This one was as bad as that Skeeter woman and that filthy little quill she was always sucking on.

"As fantastic as that attempt was, you should know that neither myself nor my family react well to threats. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I will step outside for some fresh air. There seems to be a rather foul odour in the ballroom at the moment." He looked pointedly at the reporter while he spoke the last line. It wasn't up to his usual standard of insults but he'd lost interest in the man and his weak threats.

He turned towards the exit not entirely sure what he would do if he came across Granger outside. Last time he was around her when she was angry she had punched him in the face; still he made sure his strides were purposeful. He stepped outside and felt the cold wind against his face, stinging his skin. Granger was nowhere to be seen. _Well, at least I won't be getting punched tonight_. He turned to go back inside but paused at the door. He had heard a faint thud come from the alley nearby. Voices drifted towards him on the wind and he strained his ears to hear what they were saying.

"Look what have here. Aren't we just in the Felix to have found Potter's little mudblood pet tonight. Pick her up."

Draco whipped round and moved quickly towards the alley, withdrawing his wand. Somehow he doubted that the person helping Granger up was doing it out of the kindness of their heart. As he got closer he could just make out Granger's voice. She was mumbling something and sounded confused. He heard another voice speak.

"Maybe we should show this little mudblood what it's like to be with a real pure blood wizard, not some blood traitor. Put her in her place."

He heard someone being slapped. A feminine whimper indicated that it was Granger. _Why wasn't she hexing them into oblivion?_ Draco sped up and flung himself round the corner into the alley. Anger rose in him at the sight that greeted him. Granger was being pinned to a wall at the shoulders by a hooded figure. His knee was pressing into one of her thighs. Her head was rolling form side to side as she kept muttering and trying to feebly push her attacker away. From what Draco could see her eyes seemed to be unfocused.

He reacted quickly, sending her attacker flying away from her with a banishing charm. Hermione fell to the floor with a small shriek. Moving forward Draco sent another banishing charm at a second attacker who landed close to the first. Reaching Hermione, he hauled her up against him by her arm. He felt her breathing against his chest; it was heavy and uneven. Draco had to throw up a shield charm as one of the downed wizards threw a hex at him. He replied in kind with a stunning spell that hit the wizard straight in the chest. Hermione's weight was making it difficult for him to move with his usual agility and he barely managed to move them out of the path of a cutting hex sent by the second attacker. It grazed his arm, slicing through his robes and along the edge of his wand arm. _Shit, but that stung!_ The impact of the hex had caused Draco to stumble slightly. The attacker took advantage of the brief moment of respite to grab the other, unconscious, wizard and disapparate from of the alley. The sound of the apparition echoed around them.

"Granger, are you injured?" Draco asked, looking down at the witch. She rolled her head back trying to look up at him. He brought his wand hand up to steady her head and felt something warm against his skin. He moved it away from her head slightly and saw that she was bleeding.

"You're bleeding. I'll take you back to the ball and we can get you some help."

"No! No! Too many people." She looked at him, her eyes focusing in a brief moment of lucidity, "Take me somewhere quiet… no… no people. No reporters. Owl healer Pippins… she… she's at… Mungos. No one else, don't… tell anyone… else." She looked as though she was struggling to form coherent thoughts. She reached up and grabbed the arm holding her head, squeezing it tightly in desperation. Draco paused, uncertain of what to do with her request.

"Please." Her voice was small and pleading.

"Fine," he agreed, "but let go of my arm. If you squeeze it any tighter it might fall off."

She let go, her eyes becoming unfocused once more and she began to giggle, mumbling something about good looking knights in shining armour. Draco sighed. This was not how he had intended for his evening to go. How the Golden Trio ever managed to get into this much trouble was a mystery to him. Surely Potter's danger radar would have picked up that his friend was in trouble. Draco would have much rather had Potter or Weasel dealing with this situation.

"I'm going to apparate us somewhere quiet, Granger. Hold on to me and try not to panic. When we get to our destination I will owl the healer so that they can come and tend to you." He explained to her. He didn't want her panicking because she didn't know what he was doing. "Given your current state the apparition isn't going to be fun for you. Now hold on, I will apparate us on the count of three."

He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her close. Her breathing became heavy and uneven once more as she tensed in his arms.

"One, two…"

With a crack they were gone from the alley.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So, this is a bit of a long chapter but it was necessary to explain things thoroughly. I was going to post this tomorrow but I couldn't wait. It is quite late here on my side of the world, so my editing might not be completely up to scratch. Even though I have a busy weekend ahead, I hope to get through the next chapter relatively soon. Enjoy!**

Draco and Hermione appeared in front of Malfoy Manor with a crack; both of them immediately drenched by torrential rain. Hermione stumbled from his arms retching violently. Draco caught her as her legs collapsed beneath her.

"Can you walk, Granger?"

Hermione shook her head, holding her hand over her mouth. Her eyes were still unfocused and she looked pale. _Not going to make this any easier are you?_ He picked her up and carried her towards the gates. They opened for him automatically. Hermione started giggling breathlessly. Draco looked down at her and rolled his eyes. He wanted to curse her attackers to oblivion and back. This was not the Granger he was used to dealing with at work and he didn't enjoy it. He began to think he preferred the know-it-all swot version. Giggling women were annoying; giggling Granger was near insufferable.

"What's so funny, Granger?"

"When muggles get married there's a tradition…" she interrupted herself with another bout of giggling, "where the husband carries his new bride over the threshold of their house. You're going to carry me over the threshold…" another fit of giggles overtook her, "like we're married. Imagine being married to _you_."

He shook his head and chose to ignore her as he continued up to the main entrance. As he drew near the door opened and his mother gave him a scandalised look. She was already in her evening wear. Draco pushed past her, Hermione still giggling gently to herself.

"Mother, I need you to contact a healer at St. Mungo's called Pippins. Tell her that Hermione Granger is requesting her presence at our manor. She is to floo in as soon as possible. Please do not say anything more than that. Discretion is of the utmost importance. I'm going to take Granger to my old room. Please show the healer to it when she arrives, Granger is hurt and needs to be seen to as soon as possible."

Narcissa nodded and turned, without question, towards the receiving room. Draco assumed she would use floo to call St. Mungo's. He moved through to his old room. Hermione had stopped giggling and was looking around with confused eyes. When they reached the room he put her down on the bed, withdrew his wand from his sodden robes and began to dry her off. He had started on his own robes when he was interrupted by a house elf bringing in some tea and sandwiches on a small silver tray. His mother was ever the host, even when the guest was in no condition to enjoy cucumber sandwiches. He took the tray and put it down on the dresser along with his wand. His mother entered the room.

"I have contacted the hospital. Healer Pippins is busy with an emergency case at the moment but she will be through as soon as the patient is stable. Perhaps you should go change. Mopsy can watch Miss Granger in the mean while. I will wait in the main receiving room and direct the Healer here as soon as she arrives."

"Thank you, mother."

Draco and his mother left the room closing the door behind them. He moved to his current room pulling his sodden robes off as he went. He opened the door and crossed into his en suite bathroom dropping his clothes into the bath tub. He dried himself with a towel then moved back out to his closet pulling on fresh trousers and a plain white shirt. He was about to make his way to his mother when an otter shaped patronus bounced into his room doing a lap around his feet before exiting through the window. He shook his head and made his way down to where his mother sat waiting for the healer. He took to a seat near the window.

"Draco, is there anything I should be concerned about? You arrived earlier this evening carrying an injured Miss Granger in your arms. You tell me nothing except that I must be discreet about the matter. I'm just glad that your father is out tonight. He may not have been so _understanding_ of the situation."

"She was attacked by some hooded blood purists near the event tonight. I drove them off. She refused to let me take her back into the venue for fear of reporters and, I assume for some reason, her friends finding out. So I brought her here, knowing that father was out and that you would be discreet as always."

Narcissa simply nodded and said nothing more. They waited silently for the healer to arrive. Around fifteen minutes later there was a small ring from the fireplace to indicate someone was arriving via the floo network. They turned to see a rather tall, severe looking healer exiting the green flames. Both stood to greet her.

"Good evening Mrs Malfoy, Mr Malfoy." nodding at each in turn. "Where is Miss Granger? I would like to attend to her immediately." Her tone was crisp and efficient. She had the same air about her as McGonagall. Draco saw why Hermione would call her.

"If you would follow me, please." Narcissa motioned to the door. Pippins nodded and followed her out, Draco in tow.

Once at the room she entered, alone, closing the door behind her. Draco and his mother turned to move once again to the receiving room. Before they reached it, however, they heard another small ring from the fire place within. Narcissa looked quizzically to Draco.

"Who could that be? Your father isn't due back till morning."

Draco shrugged as they moved into the receiving room. Only those authorised by his family were allowed to floo into their house. Given the time, it was unlikely to be anyone that might cause too much trouble. They were greeted by the site of Blaise Zabini exiting the fire place, dusting ash off his dress robes.

"Zabini, what are you doing here? Astoria isn't with you, is she?" Draco asked.

"No, she isn't with me. I left her back at the event when I got the message from Hermione's patronus. She said something about having been attacked and saved by a blonde knight; that I need to come as soon as I was able to. Then there was just some giggling and the patronus vanished. Since I couldn't find you at the event I assumed she was referring to you and came here as soon as I was able to get away. I brought her things." He finished lamely, holding up a small clutch and wand.

Draco found Blaise's use of Granger's first name strange. He wasn't aware that they were so friendly. They must have been if she had sent for him instead of Potter or Weasel.

"Why did she send for you?"

"I'm an auror, Malfoy. Perhaps you forgot that. I deal with things like this for a living."

"So does Potter, but it's you standing here and not him."

"Potter doesn't know about the fact that she's been a target of blood fanatics. She's been attacked before and approached me on the matter. She felt that Potter's proximity to her would infringe on an investigation into the attack. Given that it's been relatively peaceful since the end of the wizarding war, she wanted to keep the matter quiet and not cause any panic in the wizarding community at large. She felt they had suffered enough under Voldemort. Typical bleeding heart Gryffindor being more concerned about others than herself."

"She's been attacked before?" Draco asked, slightly shocked by the information.

"Yes, but out of respect to her previous wishes concerning discretion, I won't go into detail. She'll have to tell you about that herself. Where is she by the way? "

"In my old room. Healer Pippins is attending to her. She had a cut on her head and was behaving oddly; most likely a bad reaction to a hex. We were coming back here to wait till the healer was done when you arrived."

"Blaise," Narcissa interjected, "would you like to wait with us? I can get Mopsy to bring through some tea. Mopsy please come to the receiving room." There was a small crack as the house elf appeared. "Please bring us some tea and biscuits while we wait for Healer Pippins."

The house elf gave a deep bow and disappeared to the kitchens. Narcissa motioned for them all to take a seat. Within a few minutes some tea and biscuits appeared on a table in the room. Narcissa casually spoke with Blaise about his everyday affairs. Draco remained silent, looking over to the door every now and then. Eventually, Healer Pippins arrived. She began to speak of Hermione's condition without prompting.

"I have tended to Miss Granger. Her superficial wounds have been healed. She was, however, hit by a particularly strong confundus charm. Coupled with the knock she took when she fell, it has had a powerful impact on her. The majority of the confusion should be gone in the morning. This does not mean that she may not experience some after effects during the days to come. I have left her a note recommending that she take at least 3 days off work in order to fully recuperate. I must firmly request that she remains here for the duration of the night, as moving her may confuse her more. You may go up to see her now, if you wish. I will be on my way."

Draco thought that she sounded more like she was ordering them to let her stay rather than requesting it, but he simply nodded in acknowledgement. Pippins took some floo powder from a small box offered to her by Narcissa. She stepped into the fire place, stating her destination.

"Thank you for coming, Healer Pippins. I'm sure Miss Granger will be in touch with you as soon as she is able." Narcissa said placing the box back on the mantle. With a roar of flames, Pippins disappeared.

"Draco, Blaise, it's late. I think I will turn in for the evening. Please check on Miss Granger before you leave. Good Night." She turned and left the room, moving towards her own in the west wing of the manor.

Draco and Blaise walked back to the room where Hermione was. Blaise knocked on the door. There was no answer. He told Hermione that he and Draco would be entering before turning the door handle and pushing open the door. He burst into laughter at what greeted him from within the room. Draco stood next to him with an annoyed look on his face. He certainly did not find the sight as amusing.

Hermione had, at some point during her time in the room, stripped out of her dress and found her way into one of Draco's old quidditch jerseys. She was prancing around the room with his old Nimbus 2001 in hand, her hair transfigured to match Draco's white blonde. Draco moved towards her gesturing for her to give him back his broom. When she wouldn't give it to him he attempted to take it from her.

"You can't take my broom! My father bought me this so I could get onto the Slytherin quidditch team!" When a scowling Draco managed to wrestle it from her hands she looked up at him and pouted. "My father will hear of this!"

Blaise continued to laugh even harder as Draco shoved the broom back into the cupboard. He shot a dirty look towards his friend. "Shut it, Zabini!"

"She does a great impression of you when you were in school. I do recall a great deal of pouting when you didn't get your way. How Crabbe and Goyle ever put up with you all the time, I will never know."

Hermione turned towards Blaise and called his name excitedly. She ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "Have you come to take me home? I'm not really sure why I'm here in Malfoy's room. I thought he didn't like me."

"I haven't come to take you home, Hermione. I just came to see if you were okay before I go home. You're going to have to stay here tonight; Healer Pippins insisted on it. As to how Malfoy feels about you, well that's a discussion you'll have to have with him. I'll see you at work soon, Hermione. Good night." He gave her a small kiss on the top of her head. If Draco hadn't been paying attention to the interaction out the corner of his eye, he might have missed the gesture. _That's interesting._ He didn't react, hoping Blaise believed he had missed the kiss. Blaise let go of Hermione, turned, nodded to Draco and left. He knew his way around the manor, so Draco didn't follow.

He walked to the bed and picked up his wand from where Hermione had discarded it. Pointing it at Hermione's hair he transfigured it back to its natural brown. Since it had been dried it had gone back to the usual mess of curls, whatever miracle potion she used to straighten it having been washed away in the rain. He guided Hermione to the bed and instructed her to get in.

"You're not my boss." she said feebly as she crawled under the green covers.

"Do what you want then. I'm going to bed. If you need anything my room is the last one on the left."

He sneered at her, his patience waning. He extinguished all but a few of the candles in the room then turned and left, closing the door behind him. Once in his room, he stripped down to his boxers and extinguished the candles before climbing into bed. He mulled over the events of the evening, smirking at the idea of how pissed Weasel or Potter would have been if they saw Granger parading around his boyhood room in his old quidditch top. She certainly had looked good in it, not that he would ever admit that thought to anyone. He smiled to himself before falling into a deep sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione slowly became aware of a dull pain throughout her body. It culminated in a steady throbbing behind her eyes. She kept them firmly shut, fearing she might be ill if she opened them. At some point during the night she had ended up in a bed. _It was certainly an incredibly soft and comfortable bed._ She chastised herself for her lapse; she needed to find out where she was and what had happened to her. Still keeping her eyes closed she moved to a sitting position, throwing her legs over the edge of the bed. The motion made her head spin so she steadied herself by placing her head in her hands, palms over her eyes and fingers in her hair. It had transformed back into its usual curly mess.

She sighed as she tried to remember what had happened to her earlier. There was a fuzziness to her thoughts and it frustrated her. She didn't enjoy the feeling of uncertainty it brought to her. Her mind was her ally and it pained her not to be able to rely on it at the moment. She took a deep breath and focused on regaining her memories. They came back to her in fragments.

She remembered clinging to Draco Malfoy in an alley; she had said something to him but couldn't remember what it was. She did remember a feeling of desperation and pleading attached to the lost words. There was a horrid sense of being squashed into a small space. Images of dimly lit passages swam into her mind's eye. They felt somehow familiar but she couldn't quite figure out where she had seen them before. A memory of conversations overheard; the words were curt and at times tense. She recalled the deep woody scent of Blaise. Perhaps she was at his house. Slowly she began to open her eyes, allowing them to adjust to the dim light of the room.

This was not a room she recognised. A large Slytherin flag graced the wall next to the bed. It was surrounded by various quidditch memorabilia. She wasn't sure what team any of it belonged to. If it wasn't that orange team Ron supported she couldn't really be bothered, not that she really cared about the Chudley Whatsits. Her eyes noticed a bookcase to her right. She stumbled over to it; there were some photos tacked to the inside that might tell her where she was. She pulled one of them off the wood and brought it closer to her. The face of a teenage Draco Malfoy smirked back out at her. He looked around sixteen. It was then that she noticed she was no longer wearing her dress but rather a Slytherin quidditch jersey. Slowly she put the two things together. She dropped the photo as her mind began to reel. _No, it can't be! No! I can't be back here. Anywhere but here._

She turned stumbling towards the door, grabbing her bag and wand from a chair next to it. Her heart was pounding as she made her way down the hall. She needed to get the last room on the left. She couldn't even say why, she just _knew_ that was where to go. There was something in that room that would help her. The door was slightly ajar and she stumbled through it, falling to the ground as her shaky legs finally gave way. The impact of her hands of the floor caused her to lose the grip on her wand. It flew just out of reach. There was a grunt from somewhere to her left, followed by the sound of someone fumbling for something. She had to squint as a beam of wand light hit her face.

"What the fuck, Granger? What are you doing on my bedroom floor?"

She tried to push herself up, but her arms were shaky and she barely cleared the floor. She tensed as a pair of strong hands grabbed her firmly at the waist and lifted her to her feet. Her eyes looked up at their owner's face. They blinked dumbly at the features of Draco Malfoy. Hermione met his grey eyes and suddenly became very aware of herself. She tried to push him away from her, but the feeling of his warm skin against her palms only made her feel slightly flustered. Her effort did little to move him.

"Let me go, Malfoy. I am more than capable of standing by myself." She tried to make her voice firm but she doubted that it truly held any authority in the moment.

Draco let out a sceptical snort and let go of her waist. She immediately stumbled and he returned his hands to their original position. She muttered in protest as he moved her, rather unceremoniously, to a seat next to a fire place. She made to stand up once more but Draco pushed her back down with his left arm. She caught a glimpse at his dark mark out the corner of her eye. She couldn't bring herself to look at it and kept her eyes forward. Unfortunately this meant that she was looking directly at his torso. She felt slightly taken aback at how lean and muscular it was. There were faint curse scars on his chest. _Harry's Sectumsempra._ He had obviously noticed where her eyes were resting because he stepped back and smirked.

"See something you like, Granger?" he asked, his voice dripping with smugness.

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to look out a pair of French doors that appeared to lead to a balcony. She could feel him still looking at her with that smug face of his. An old desire to punch him rose within her; had she been in better condition she might have acted on that desire. Instead she asked him what series of events had led her to current predicament.

"It's rude not to answer someone's question, Granger." He said as he sat back down of the edge of his bed. "However, since you referred to me as a handsome knight several times this evening, I believe I already have my answer."

Hermione flushed at his words. She recalled saying something vaguely similar in a patronus message. Draco was clearly enjoying making her flustered so she moved him back to the topic of the evening's events. He explained to her what had happened as she sat listening quietly. She had a feeling that he was leaving something out when he explained how he and Blaise had said goodnight but didn't push it any further. There was too little fight left in her tonight.

 _So it was those damn blood purists again!_ She suddenly felt herself wishing they had all died along with Voldemort. Seven years and people still thought they could get away with hurting people based on their birth. It was sickening and made her feel simply exhausted. Blaise still hadn't managed to track down the last person who had called her a mudblood before hurling a hex at her back. Had she not flung herself forward she might have been seriously injured that night. She just wanted to be home in her own bed to sleep for days and wake up with this all gone from her life.

"I'm going home." She stood as she said it, walking clumsily to collect her bag and wand, "I didn't see my dress with my other items, where is it?"

"Were you not listening earlier? Pippins said you should wait till morning before going anywhere. If you don't, you could make your conditions worse."

"I said I'm going home!" she snapped back at him, her voice getting slightly louder, "Where is my dress? I didn't see it in your other room."

"Mopsy probably took it so she could clean it and have it ready for you in the morning."

Hermione bristled at the fact that the Malfoys still had a house elf. She muttered about slave labour under her breath. Draco did not miss her words, however.

"It's not _slave labour_ , Granger. If you must know mother tried to follow that new law you and the Department of Magical Creatures drew up, but Mopsy would have none of it. She went into hysterics at the thought of us paying her. My mother had to talk her down saying she could choose what she wanted to do. In the end Mopsy chose to stay in our family's service and was quite happy with the new tea towel uniform my mother offered her as an apology for upsetting her so much." He didn't give her a chance to reply before continuing, "My mother is actually quite fond of Mopsy. She even ordered her away from the house when the Death Eaters were staying here so they wouldn't hurt her."

Hermione tensed at the words. Her initial panic at discovering where she was returned and her breath started to come in short erratic bursts. She tried not to picture Bellatrix and what she had done to her in this very place. The desperation to leave became more intense. She turned and stumbled in a hurried fashion towards the fireplace. She hoped that Draco would have had some floo nearby. She saw a small box on the mantel and in her haste to reach it tripped over her feet. Her knees hit the floor and pain shot up her legs, a yelp of pain leaving her lips. She manged to hold on to her possessions this time and as she got to her feet she summoned the box of floo to her with a flick of her wand. She was about to open the box when a Draco grabbed her arm forcefully.

"Let go of me! I am leaving here! I can't stay here after what your aunt did to me in this house!"

There was an unrestrained panic in her words. She was desperate to leave and she didn't care if Malfoy knew it. Before she could move she felt herself being pulled towards the fire place. She looked at Malfoy with confusion. She couldn't read the look on his face.

"You can go home. I can't make you stay here if you refuse to. It's not worth the fucking trouble but I'm coming with you. If something happens to you I'm pretty sure Zabini would kill me, given how chummy you two seem to be. Unlike you, I value my health and would prefer not to die because of some stubborn know-it-all witch."

Green flames roared up as he threw a handful of floo into the fire place. He stepped in, yanking Hermione in after him and pulling her tight against him. He was warm against her and she could smell traces of bergamot on him.

"State our destination Granger. I don't know where you live."

She gave her address and she was soon stumbling into her living room. She had never flooed anywhere next to anyone before – it was a horrible experience that she hoped never to repeat. Draco stepped out after her looking around her home as he did. Hermione felt a surge of annoyance towards him. _My home is probably too muggle for his pure blood sensibilities._ Perhaps she was being unfair, he hadn't actually said anything about it, but she loved her home. It was cozy, filled with many beloved books and most importantly, it was in a residential area on the outskirts of London. This meant that she moved around with relative anonymity. Being home made her panic soothe, she felt calm once more. She thought of her bed and how desperately she wanted to be in it; it was warm and familiar. It was safe. She knew she wouldn't be able to get up the stairs by herself. It pained her slightly to ask help from Malfoy, but she swallowed her pride.

"Malfoy, I need you to take me to bed." She blushed at her poor choice of words. She saw Malfoy raise his eyebrows and smirk at her. Her earlier urge to punch him returned.

"I'm not some besotted fan boy you can just order into bed, Granger." Hermione could practically hear the smirk in his voice, "I prefer being wined and dined. However, since you are in need of a _knight in shining armour_ once more, I shall assist you to your room. Upstairs, I presume?"

Hermione shot daggers at him. She was about to inform him that ferrets couldn't possibly wear armour, when she decided to rather hold her tongue. The quicker she got to her room, the quicker she would be rid of him. He helped her up the stairs, his grip firm but gentle on Hermione's arm. Hermione was slightly surprised at the gentleness. She was used to a very different Malfoy: the snivelling git from school she once knew; the crisp, professional Malfoy at work. He was still a git now, that was for sure, but he was helping her, Hermione Granger, the girl he adamantly hated in school. She directed him to her room and he opened the door for her, gesturing for her to enter. She frowned slightly at the motion. _Don't invite me to go into my own room_. She gingerly walked in and he took a step in after. A small bedside lamp lit the room, casting a soft light over her possessions. She turned and thanked Malfoy for his help, saying she was fine on her own from this point.

"I'd like my shirt back."

She rolled her eyes at him. _Really, Malfoy? After everything that happened tonight all you can think about is getting your shirt back?_ He seemed to have read her thoughts as he added,

"I'm quite fond of it."

"Of course you are." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, "Wait outside while I change."

He turned and leaned against the door frame, his bare back to her. He hadn't put a shirt on in his haste to get her back here. When it became evident that he wasn't moving any further Hermione let out a huff and moved to the chest of drawers where she kept her pyjamas. She was about to pull out a blue nightgown when she noticed one of Harry's old quidditch jerseys. She had slept in it during their time searching for Horcruxes and had never been able to do away with it. She smirked and pulled it out, knowing it would annoy Malfoy. She removed the Slytherin jersey and replaced it with the Gryffindor one.

"Here," she said throwing the jersey at Malfoy as he turned, "take your beloved jersey. Close the door behind you on the way out, please."

Draco caught the jersey without much effort. His face remained impassive at the site of the Gryffindor jersey. Hermione thought she might have seen the slightest twitch of his lip. She smiled to herself and moved to her bed, making a point to move her hair to the side so Malfoy could see Harry's surname on the back of the jersey. She turned off the lamp before climbing into bed. It was an uncharacteristically rude act for Hermione, but she felt it was acceptable considering their time together at Hogwarts. She settled on her back and closed her eyes waiting to hear the door to her room close. The sound never came. Before she could open her eyes to see what was going on she felt the mattress dip next to her right side. Her heart began to race as she felt a breath near her left ear; it was light and warm against her skin.

"I've changed my mind, Granger. You can keep the shirt." Draco's voice was a calm whisper, "we both know you look better in green."

Her breath hitched at his words. She opened her eyes and followed his face as it moved above hers, his mouth held in a smirk. _He's so close._ She looked up at his eyes, feeling his breath tickling her lips. Before she could react he dropped the jersey next to her and moved away from her. Hermione felt the weight on the mattress lift as she exhaled a deep breath.

"Good night, Granger."

The door closed with a click.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: This is a short chapter that is necessary to set up events later in the story. After the events at the end of the last chapter it might seem a tad dull, but bear with me please. The next chapter will see much more interaction between Draco and Hermione.**

Draco arrived at the Ministry of Magic in a foul mood. He had received an owl early Sunday morning with a letter from the Ministry requesting an emergency meeting first thing on Monday. There was no reason given, it simply told him to be there at seven o' clock sharp. Emergency meetings in the Department of International Magical Cooperation usually meant there was an increased work load on the way. He walked through the near empty entrance hall of the Ministry. There were a few Enforcement Patrol officers coming off shift, but otherwise it would be some time before the hall filled with others arriving for work.

As Draco neared the elevator, his mind drifted back to the events that had transpired in the early hours of Sunday morning. He couldn't help but remember the fear and panic that had flooded Granger's features when he had mentioned the Death Eaters being at the manor all those years ago. He knew what his aunt had done must have had an affected on her, but he had never thought it was to such an extent. During her recollections of events at the trials she had always seemed so calm and collected. Perhaps the confusion charm had heightened any emotions connected to the memories. He had felt such a fool in that moment for bringing her to his home. It had simply been the only option he could think of. He knew it would have been cruel not to let her leave. His mind drifted towards the memory of how she had felt against him in the fireplace before they left. He had been surprised that she hadn't objected to how close he had held her.

He'd been even more surprised at just how much the sight of her in Potter's quidditch jersey had annoyed him. He knew Granger had done it just to piss him off and it had worked. He had enjoyed the sight of her in Slytherin green. He would never voice it out loud but he wouldn't lie to himself about the fact that she had grown into quite an attractive witch. He had enjoyed how flustered she became when he decided to get a little revenge for her action. He pushed the thought of how close they had been out of his mind. He needed to focus on work.

He had moved into one of the many elevators in the Ministry building on autopilot. The elevator had begun its journey to the meeting place when it announced a stop at The Department for Magical Law Enforcement. Draco looked up to see Blaise stepping into the elevator holding a mug of coffee in his hand.

"You're here early, Zabini."

"Good morning to you too, Draco. I see you're just a bundle of puffskeins this morning." He took a ship of his coffee, "If you must know, my department was called to an emergency meeting this morning."

"Fucksakes, this day is just getting worse." Blaise gave him an inquiring look to which he answered, "Members in my department also received a notice for an emergency meeting. You know this means that something unpleasant has happened."

Both men let out deep, heavy sighs. Blaise took another sip of coffee. A few more witches and wizards boarded the elevator and departed on various floors before they reached the correct floor. They entered the empty room and took seats at the far side of it, waiting for the others to arrive. Slowly various witches and wizards from their departments trickled in. Draco recognised a high ranking official from the International Magical Office of Law and gave him a nod of greeting.

He looked towards the door and saw Potter enter with, much to his surprise and annoyance, Granger in tow. _So much for taking time to recover_. He nudged Blaise and inclined his head in the direction she had taken a seat. Blaise sighed and shook his head muttering under his breath. Draco watched Hermione as she and Harry sat in whispered conversation. He looked away to see the governing heads of the Department of International Magical Cooperation and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement take up standing positions at the front of the room. Silence descended on the room.

"Good morning everyone and thank you for being here. I know it's early but the matter at hand needs to be resolved as soon as possible with the greatest amount of efficiency." Draco's governing head spoke first, "My colleague here will give a brief outline of events to you before I continue with what needs to be said from my department." He gestured to Blaise's boss who began:

"As you all know, it has been seven years since the defeat of You-Know-Who. While we haven't seen resurgence in support for him, there are those who still hold onto his ideas of blood purity. Over the years there have been one or two non-fatal attacks on Muggle-born witches and wizards. Despite our best efforts the perpetrators were not caught. Unfortunately, the situation has escalated." He paused for effect before continuing. The atmosphere in the room had become tense.

"On Saturday night at various locations around the country, several Muggle-borns were attacked. Most of the injuries were not severe, but unfortunately a high ranking member of the French Ministry of Magic was killed in his holiday home. Initial interviews collected by the aurors and enforcement patrol on duty that night report four hooded figures fleeing before disapparating just outside the house's wards. There is no indication that these figures were Death Eaters. Evidence suggests that they may be linked to the random attacks I mentioned previously." He stepped back as he finished.

Draco's governing head stepped forward once more. Draco took the brief pause to look over to where Hermione was seated. She was furiously making notes on some parchment. _Ever the teacher's pet, aren't you, Granger?_ Draco looked back to the two wizards heading up the meeting. The governing head of his department had thanked his colleague and began speaking once more.

"We will be working with the French Ministry going foward. There will also be teams investigating the local attacks to see if they are connected to the French official in any way. There are some of you here that will not be directly involved in the investigation; you will still need to know what is happening due to your positions within the Ministry and proximity to the media. This is a sensitive issue that we cannot have blown out of proportion the way _The Daily Prophet_ tends to do with these sorts of things. That is all for now. Those of you directly involved in the investigation with be receiving letters detailing your positions within the hour."

He thanked them for coming before turning and exiting. There were scrapes and bangs as people got up to leave. Draco noticed Hermione hesitating to leave. She made as if to finish up taking notes but Draco noticed her looking at him out the corner of her eye. She must have been waiting for him to pass by her. He stood and moved towards her, casually so as not to draw attention to himself. As he drew closer she subtly pushed a piece of parchment gently to the side of the pile in front of her. There was something written on the parchment. Draco slowed slightly, darting his eyes quickly over the words:

 _They don't know anything._

He knew she was referring to the attack on her. She wasn't looking at him so he needed to find a way to signal his acknowledgement of her note. He smirked at his solution. As he walked past he inconspicuously pinched her bottom. It had the desired effect as she jumped slightly and turned to face him. He gave her a barely perceptible nod.

"Something wrong, 'Mione?'' Potter asked.

"No, everything is fine, Harry." She replied.

Draco carried on walking as if nothing had happened. He paused briefly at the door, turning his head to the side and looking back at Hermione out the corner of his eye. She gave him a murderous look before continuing to pack up her belongings. He smirked before heading to his own office.


	6. Chapter 6

Harry had mumbled complaints about the hour of day on their way back from the meeting but Hermione had only been half listening. Her thoughts had been resting on the moment Draco had acknowledged her note. She was in half a mind to go to his office and give him a stern lecture on the matter. Pinching a co-worker's behind was hardly suitable conduct at work. _Outside of work was a different matter._ She was surprised at herself for such a thought; then again she had been surprised at her reaction to his closeness last night in her room. Had he ever been that close to her back at Hogwarts, she would have tossed a Bat- Bogey hex at him without even blinking. She paused to enjoy the thought of a teenage Draco fleeing from a swarm of bats before turning to bid Harry farewell with a small hug as he turned into the auror offices. Hermione had just made to leave when he called after her.

"Mione, don't forget lunch with Ginny this afternoon."

"I won't forget, Harry. It's been penciled in my planner since last week, when she owled me to arrange it."

"We both know out of the two of us, I'm the one who will forget. Make me look like a good fiancé and come collect me if I do for – ouch!" An interdepartmental memo had flown into the side of his head, "These bloody memos! I swear – don't you laugh at me, Mione! What if I lost an eye?"

"I can see the headlines now," she giggled, "The Boy-Who-Lived thwarted by a charmed paper plane. Don't worry about lunch; I'll come collect you later, Harry."

She smiled as her friend crumpled the note, muttering as he went to his desk. She walked down the hall to her department's offices. She felt a pang of guilt about not telling him what happened on Saturday night. As much as she loved Harry and Ron, knowing what had happened would put them on edge and they would become unnecessarily protective of her. She had owled Blaise the previous evening to arrange that he report the attack on her behalf, making sure to keep her identity anonymous. Hermione knew not telling Harry and Ron was one thing, but not reporting the attack to the necessary officials was unthinkable to her. As long as Blaise was careful her identity need not be revealed. If an attack on one of the "Golden Trio" – she rolled her eyes at the name – became public she feared it might cause panic among the wizarding community. They had all been through too much at the hand of Voldemort; some among them experiencing the horror of his tyranny both before his disappearance and after his return to power. They deserved peace and it broke her heart that there were those among them that could take it away from them with their bigoted ideas.

Hermione took a seat at her cubicle, busying herself with a report she had due at the end of the week. She had just finished a paragraph outlining the body of a new law they were working on when a head came into view over the top of the small wall in front of her. She looked up at the face of Cormac McLaggen.

"Morning, Hermione. Did you get an invite to that meeting this morning?" He didn't give her time to reply before he continued, "I didn't, which is strange considering my family is big in the Ministry, as you know."

McLaggen continued on his monologue, but Hermione was only half listening. She made sounds of agreement every now and then. _Merlin, I can't wait to get to a point in my career where I have my own office._ She realised that McLaggen had stopped speaking and was looking at her expectantly.

"Perhaps you should chat to one of the higher ups about the matter, Cormac. I'm sure they would be able to provide you with answers. There was probably some sort of misunderstanding on the matter of your inclusion, especially considering your family's position within the Ministry." Her mention of his family was slightly sarcastic, but she knew he wouldn't pick up on it.

"You're right, Hermione. I'll go to them straight away. Get this whole misunderstanding sorted."

Hermione watched him stride purposefully away towards the personal offices. She heard the sound of paper crinkling behind her and turned to see an interdepartmental memo had crashed into the little pot plant on her desk. It was the blue colour of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. A few months after Hermione had started at the Ministry she had suggested that they colour code the memos according to departments in order for them to be more efficient. The Administration Department had loved the idea. She hadn't expected a note from the Department of International Magical Cooperation as she was unlikely to be directly involved in any of the investigations. She unfurled the note and read it.

 _What are you doing at work?_

 _Healer Pippins told you to take off to recover._

 _DM_

Hermione stared at the note and contemplated it. She wasn't sure what to make of it. If it hadn't been penned by Malfoy, she might have thought it was sent out of concern. Perhaps it was concern; he had helped her after the attack to a greater extent than she would have expected from him. Then there was that moment in her room, when he had given her back his quidditch jersey. She paused; thinking of the jersey folded neatly on a shelf in her cupboard. She pulled out one of her own pale orange memo pads and wrote:

 _Your concern for my health is overwhelming. I am, however, feeling fine._

 _Should something happen to me, you'll be the first to know._

 _HG_

Hermione flicked her wand over the note and watched it fold into a plane before flying off to find the recipient. She turned her attention back to her report and had barely completed the next sentence when another memo crashed into her stack of notes from the morning's meeting. It was the same pale orange as hers. She opened it and smiled warmly at the note inside.

 _Hermione,_

 _I see you decided to ignore Healer Pippins's advice. For shame!_

 _Obviously there is nothing I can say that will change that stubborn Gryffindor mind of yours, so I won't even bother to try._

 _Just take it easy today, please._

 _Blaise_

 _P.S. Apparently, one of these memos nearly took out Potter's eye this morning. I hope the same doesn't happen to you. I don't think that I could handle the shame of having disfigured the only good looking member of the "Golden Trio"._

She penned a note thanking Blaise for his concern and informing him that he had not brought shame to his family name; she was still in possession of two functioning eyes. Her memo had just flown through the door when another blue one landed on her desk. Hermione was beginning to feel like she was back in school passing notes under the desk. She opened the new blue memo and read it.

 _If something does happen to you, I might not be able to aid you as my armour isn't with me._

 _I sent it to be shined before work this morning- only the best will do for a damsel such a yourself._

 _I hope this doesn't prove problematic for you, Granger._

 _DM_

A smiled had crept over Hermione's lips without her realising. He seemed to enjoy teasing her about what she had said to him during her addled state. Perhaps his original note was sent out of some sort of concern for her. The tone of this note felt different, however. It was lighter and – dare she say it- flirtatious. _No. It's Draco Malfoy. He would never flirt with me._ She told herself that she had probably misread the tone. She shook herself straight; this was a silly train of thought. She was about to pack away her memo pad when she was seized by a sudden recklessness. She grabbed her quill and dipped it in some ink. Thinking of his state of undress during the events of that Sunday morning, she wrote her reply:

 _No armour is fine. It certainly wasn't a problem on Sunday morning._

 _HG_

Hermione sent the plane on its way before she could change her mind about replying. If she had misread his letter, it might be somewhat embarrassing for her but the Ministry was big enough that she wouldn't see Malfoy too often. She also doubted he would tell anyone about her reply. Well, she hoped he wouldn't tell anyone. She picked up her quill and managed to return to her report. Her research and writing continued relatively undisturbed until it was time for her to fetch Harry for lunch. There was a brief interlude where she had to listen to Cormac's indignant monologue about how he was purposefully left out of the meeting this morning. He left soon after; she assumed to speak to some or other family member within the Ministry.

* * *

Lunch with Harry and Ginny was pleasant. They had flooed into the Leaky Cauldron for a pub lunch and then casually walked through Diagon Alley.

"Where did you disappear to on Saturday night, Hermione?" Ginny asked while they looked into the window of Madam Malkin's.

"Oh, I ran into a horrid reporter for one of those terrible rags. He got me so worked up that I went back to the Ministry to do some research on that report I have due at the end of the week in an attempt to get my mind off of what he had said. I'm sorry for not saying goodbye, but I was just so flustered."

Hermione was pointedly looking at a horrible, Umbridge-esque fuchsia set of robes instead of Ginny. She couldn't bring herself to lie straight to her friend's face. Ginny sighed and shook her head.

"I suppose you were on the prowl for Ron then? Or was it Harry this time?"

"Both were mentioned. Can we change the subject, Gin? I don't really want to give that man my time of day."

Ginny nodded at her request and began to discuss her quidditch team's new training schedule. Their coach had been working them extra hard with the new season approaching and it had been making planning for her wedding even more stressful. Harry wondered back to them from the shop window he had been looking through.

"Gin, we should get some supplies to replenish the broom maintenance kit while we're here." He turned to Hermione, "Want to come, Hermione?"

"I think I might just pop into the second hand book shop while you guys go to get your supplies. Meet you at the joke shop?"

They nodded and went their separate ways. Hermione had managed to find a book on the history of her department at the second hand bookstore while Harry and Ginny had quickly grabbed their quidditch supplies. They popped in to say hello to George and Ron at the joke shop before leaving. They had nearly been late back to work after discussing how Molly Weasley had been faffing about Harry and Ginny's upcoming wedding. She had threatened George and Ron with bodily harm if they even thought about bringing products from the store to the wedding. She was apparently still furious about an incident at the last dinner gathering where Teddy Lupin had gotten his hands on a portable swamp. Before they stepped out Harry slipped Ron some money for the wildfire wizbangs he'd grabbed without Ginny noticing. Hermione just sighed and shook her head at them when they noticed she was watching the transaction.

Ginny said her goodbyes to them at the Ministry's Diagon Alley entrance before returning the Harpies's training centre. Harry walked Hermione back to her desk, adamantly trying to avoid her questions on what he planned to do with fireworks he had just bought. Hermione noticed Cormac had not returned from where ever he had gone earlier.

"You have mail, 'Mione." He said looking at her desk.

There was a paper bat fluttering around her desk. It was most likely the invitation for the Ministry's yearly Halloween ball. Ever since Parvati Patil had taken over the planning of Ministry events the invites had gotten more and more elaborate. She left the bat for Harry to grab, sitting back down in her chair. He opened it and passed it to her. In golden script read the words:

 _You are cordially invited to the Ministry of Magic's Halloween masked ball._

 _Bring your best disguise and a purse full of coin to participate in night's silent auction. All proceeds from the auction will go towards St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries._

 _Please RSVP before 20 October._

 _Any items donated for the auction need to be handed over to Parvati Patil before October 15._

 _After last year's incident with the Cornish Pixies, Minister Shacklebolt kindly requests that guests do not bring any live decorations or costumes to the ball._

"What's it say?"

"It's the Halloween invite from the Ministry. It's a masked ball this year."

Harry sighed, "I'd rather be back in the arena with that Horntail from the Triwizard Tournament than go to _another_ ball."

"Don't you dare try get out of this, Harry. If I have to go, then so do you. Besides, if you didn't want to be constantly invited to balls then you shouldn't have successfully thwarted the most evil wizard of our time." She shrugged and smiled at him, "It's really all your own fault, you know."

"Well, I would say that you're partially to blame too. You kept me alive with your smarts on several occasions." Harry said before exiting.

* * *

Hermione packed away her notes and tidied her desk. It was the end of the working day and Malfoy hadn't replied to her note. She felt like a bit of a fool for being so bold. Clearly it had been a mistake. She slung her bag over her shoulder and walked to the elevator. She was reading some departmental notices on the bulletin board when she heard the ping of the elevator doors opening. She turned to see Cormac standing inside talking to a disinterested looking Draco. She smiled at Cormac who simply nodded and continued talking. She looked over to Draco and struggled not to react to the way he was looking at her. His gaze made her stomach clench slightly. _Merlin, why does he have to be on this elevator? Why did I have to send that stupid memo?_

Hermione stepped into the elevator and turned to face the door. The elevator soon began to fill with witches and wizards leaving work for the day. She cursed them all as they slowly pushed her back towards Draco. She kept her head forward as she bumped into him slightly. They were nearing the main entrance when she felt a hand press gently into her lower back. Her heart quickened as she looked over to see both of Cormac's hand in full view. She turned her head ever so slightly and looked over her shoulder at Draco. The feel of his hand on her back made her body tingle. Her chest tightened with an unexpected excitement at the intimacy of the gesture. Taking a deep breath she turned to face the doors once more.

His hand remained on her back until the doors opened on the main entrance hall and the elevator's occupants began to move out into the hall. Before she could make a motion to leave Draco bent down and whispered in her ear. Goosebumps blossomed where his breath touched her skin.

"Goodnight, Granger."

He swept out the elevator and walked across to the floo area without looking back. Hermione followed a few paces back, watching Draco as he stepped into a fireplace. She just caught site of the satisfied smirk on his face before he disappeared. Her heart was still racing as she looked at the now empty spot where he had been standing. She climbed into an empty fireplace, smiling, and watched the Ministry disappear in a roar of green flames.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: My apologies for the gap between this chapter and the last. Here you go MW (you know who you are), now you can finally read chapter 7. I hope the fact that things start to get interesting between Hermione and Draco makes up for the time elapsed. Once again, apologies for any editing errors. It's rather late on my side of the world and I may have missed a few things. P.S. It's a long one, but hold tight; it's worth it.**

Hermione arrived at The Burrow to be warmly greeted by Arthur Weasley, holding his work bag in one hand and a half-eaten sandwich in the other. He had a slightly flustered appearance to him.

"On your way out, Arthur?" Hermione asked after returning his greeting.

"Yes, I need to go into work. Perkins and his new officer are having a tough time with fridge in a Muggle neighbourhood. It seems to have been enchanted to trap anyone who comes near it inside. It's escaped the house and is proving tough to capture. I know it's not my department anymore, but you know me, I just can't resist." He smiled at Hermione before moving to the door, "Enjoy dress shopping with the girls, Hermione. "

She watched him disappear just beyond The Burrow's wards. She turned as Molly and Ginny entered the kitchen. Hermione was pulled into one of Molly's motherly hugs.

"Hermione, it's so good to see you." She smiled, "You're looking a bit thin, dear. Have you been eating enough?"

Hermione smiled at the witch. She knew she could be the size of a troll and Molly would still think she looked "too thin". She assured her that she was eating more than enough and turned to greet Ginny. The three witches had planned to go for lunch and then dress shopping for the Halloween ball the following Saturday. Ginny had owled Hermione the day after she received her invite to schedule the outing. Since she had started her new training regimen with the Harpies her time had become increasingly limited, resulting in her event schedule becoming ruthlessly and efficiently planned. She had slotted dress shopping in between a morning training session and a work dinner with one of the team's sponsors.

"Are you going with anyone to the ball dear?" Molly asked Hermione.

"No." she replied simply.

"I'm sure someone will ask you. Who knows, maybe one day you'll meet a potential husband at one of these Ministry dos."

Hermione knew Molly was only trying to be nice, but she felt a pang of irritation. This wasn't school anymore; she was perfectly fine going to events by herself. As for finding a husband, Hermione was happy to focusing on her career, yet Molly as with all of her children – she included Harry and Hermione amongst them – was determined to see her married off. After six years at the Ministry, Hermione highly doubted it would be the place to produce someone who could make Molly's goals for her a reality. All it had given her were some awkward dates; a short, casual fling, and now some flirtatious memos that she was certain the Weasley matriarch would not approve of given their author. It looked as if Molly was going to start discussing her future prospects for a husband once more when, thankfully, Ginny interrupted her.

"Right, let's get going. I have to be back at my place by six so I can get ready for dinner at seven."

"Ginny, dear, I'm sure the dress shopping won't take five hours, even with lunch thrown into the mix."

"Well, you never know Mother. I'd rather be safe than sorry. This dinner is very important." Ginny replied, her tone crisp and efficient. She handed her mother and Hermione some floo before taking a handful for herself. Ginny stepped into the fireplace and disappeared into the green flame. Hermione and Mollly followed suit. Hermione smiled to herself as she saw the colour of the flames. She wondered if the two witches would approve of the colour she had in mind for her dress.

* * *

Hermione was just finishing up for the day when she saw a memo fly in through the door towards her desk. She sighed and hoped it wouldn't be yet another request for assistance from the International Magical Office of Law. They had been relying increasingly on her help with legal research for a case concerning some international property disputes. It was tedious work, even by Hermione's standards, but she couldn't bring herself to say no to their requests. She opened the memo somewhat reluctantly and read:

 _I hope to have a good time at the ball tomorrow, Granger, so I'm going to have to ask that you refrain from going into any deserted alley ways._

 _DM_

She smiled at the words. Since the incident in the elevator almost a month ago, Hermione hadn't had much interaction with Draco. She had seen him in passing during her movement around the Ministry but never in such close proximity as they had been in the elevator. Those few encounters had still been filled with a tension that Hermione couldn't deny. They had usually been followed by a brief written exchange, each of these becoming more daring than the last. Hermione enjoyed how easily the flirtation had developed. There had always been a slight awkwardness between her and Ron. She had assumed it was because they were young and had simply been adjusting to the shift in their relationship. In hind sight she saw it was because they had never been as compatible romantically as either had hoped. Since Ron, the relationships she had been in had always seen a rather measured Hermione. There had been many who simply wanted to enjoy some of her fame, so she tended to be wary of even the smallest flirtations. As a result most dates she went on were awkward and any sort of attraction would fizzle out quite quickly. Yet here she was, much to her own surprise, openly flirting with Draco Malfoy- both Harry and Ron would probably believe her imperiused if they ever knew. She highly doubted either would take the information very well if they were to ever find out. She was about to reply when she was distracted by Harry entering the office. Hermione quickly tucked the note into her bag.

"Mind if I walk with you to the entrance? I forgot to hand in my auction item to Parvati and she's apparently here looking for me. I can't face her by myself. You know how she gets with these events, Hermione."

"Honestly, Harry, you would forget your head if it wasn't screwed on. She did send us several reminders before the due date, so there is really no excuse." She picked up her things and looked at Harry, "I should let you go down on your own, but as I am a good friend I won't let you face the wrath of Parvati alone. You owe me for this."

Harry extended his arm to her and Hermione hooked hers around it. Harry took her bag from her and put it over his shoulder. She leant her head on his shoulder as they exited the office.

"And don't you think I won't collect on this Harry James Potter."

* * *

Hermione smiled at herself in the mirror. She had popped into a bathroom just after arriving at the Ministry in order to add the final touches to her costume. She had decided to bewitch some black paper folded into the shape of bats to fly around the bun she had her hair in. She had gotten the idea from the original invite design, and since they weren't alive, they didn't violate the minister's request regarding live props. Hermione removed the bats from her clutch and let them fly up to her hair. She had chosen not to floo in with them out for fear that they might not survive the journey. She thought they went quite well with the dark grey lace of her mask. She thought they went _exceptionally_ well with her green dress. The dress itself had a conservative neckline and long sleeves, with a slit on the right side that went to just above the knee. She had chosen it more for the colour than design. The deep, emerald shade complimented her skin tone – she really did look good in green.

She exited the bathroom and made her way towards the main atrium of the Ministry. She looked up to see that the weather above the skylight had been changed to a slightly overcast sky with a full moon. It certainly added a wonderful effect to the sumptuously decorated area. Hermione had to hand it to Parvati – she knew how to throw a party. She turned to try and find her friends. It wasn't long before she spotted several heads of red hair amongst the crowd and moved towards them. George was the first to notice her approach and waved a top hat at her in greeting. Even with his black mask she knew it was him; no one else would put muggle playing cards in their hat.

The rest of the Weasleys turned and greeted her. Arthur Weasley was particularly amused by the little paper bats flying around her head – one had settled on his nose when he hugged Hermione. It seemed quite content on its new perch and so there was no attempt made to remove it. Harry and Ginny, she was told, were running late due to Ginny's training. Hermione smiled as Molly Weasley faffed over Ron's appearance, Lavender joining in shortly after. He gave Hermione a pleading look as if to ask her to put an end to what he clearly felt was an ordeal. She simply smiled at him and turned away, walking to one of the drink tables. She was ordering a firewhiskey when someone came up next to her.

"Interesting choice of colour tonight, Granger."

Hermione smiled into her glass as she took a sip of firewhiskey. She turned her body slightly towards Draco as she looked up to face him. He wore a green mask, stylised so that the top mimicked the outline of a dragon. The rich shade stood out against the paleness of his skin and hair.

"Someone once told me I look good in green."

"A wise man, no doubt."

"Well," she turned away from him and began walking back to the Weasley crowd, "I wouldn't use the word wise to describe him."

Hermione felt him wrap his fingers around her wrist; a tingling sensation surged up her arm. She stopped and turned to face him.

"What kind of word would you use to describe him?"

Hermione paused for a second to consider her answer. Years ago she would have replied "git" without a second thought, but as of late she wasn't sure how she would succinctly describe Draco Malfoy. The entire situation that had arisen between them after her attack was strange and intriguing to her. Even though her teenage self was screaming at her to run away, there was a louder voice telling her not to over analyse it like she usually did – to just enjoy this flirtation until its inevitable end in a few months or so. Hermione looked Draco dead in the eye and replied:

"Intriguing."

He simply smiled and let go of her wrist; disappearing into the crowd as she watched him go. Before turning back to her original destination, Hermione caught site of the bartender giving her a strange look. She simply smiled at him and walked back to the crowd of Weasleys. It had grown by two with the arrival of Harry and Ginny. She made to greet them but before she could, Ron stepped into her line of sight.

"Was that ferret bothering you, 'Mione?"

"Oh… no, he wasn't." She had been so absorbed in the moment that she hadn't given any thought to the fact that her interaction with Draco might have been seen by others, "He was just checking in on something that my department is helping his with."

"I still don't like that slimy git."

Hermione found herself irritated by the words.

"Yes, we all know that you don't like him, Ron. There's no need to reiterate it _yet again_."

She pushed past Ron toward Harry and Ginny without looking at him; hearing a huff as she did so. Ron was never one to let go of his feelings towards someone easily. His reaction to such a small interaction made her glad she hadn't spoken to him about Draco helping her after the attack. She thought that he would have probably been angrier at her being around Draco than at the wizards that attacked her.

Hermione hugged Harry and Ginny warmly. Harry was wearing a rather elaborate cloak over his dress robes. It had images of various little seekers flying in all directions, looking for a snitch that did not seem to be present anywhere on the garment. Harry saw her quizzical look at the cloak and pointed to Ginny's hair. A tiny snitch rested on the end of her bun, its wings flapping every now and then. Hermione smiled at it.

"Couple costumes," Harry offered rolling his eyes, "Ginny insisted."

Hermione had a feeling there had been some disagreements between the couple about the matter of costumes. She smiled at Harry – he really had met his match in Ginny. Before she could make any further comment on the matter they were interrupted by the magically amplified voice of the Minister of Magic echoing around them.

" _Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Ministry of Magic's annual Halloween charity ball. Thank you all for attending tonight, as it is for a wonderful cause. I won't bore you with a long speech, I will, however, wish you a fantastic evening and invite you all to join me in an opening dance."_

Kingsley Shacklebolt smiled at the crowd and gestured to the designated dance floor. There was a flustered shuffling as people moved to find their partners or away from the dance floor. Hermione turned to move from the dance floor when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned back to see George smiling at her. He held out his other hand and offered it to her, bowing deeply.

"Madame Granger, might you be so kind as to humour me with a dance? As you may have seen Angelina is not here this evening and I would be remiss in my duties as a wizard of standing not to join in the opening dance."

Hermione laughed, "When did you become a wizard of standing, George?"

He gave her a look of mock hurt, withdrawing his hand. Hermione grabbed it before he could get too far away. She was still laughing as he pulled her into a rather exuberant dance, one that was hardly in time with the music that had begun to play. She was still giggling breathlessly when the dance had ended. She curtsied in reply to George's bow and declined another dance. He simply shrugged and started an even wilder solo dance that made several people move away from him. Hermione caught a mix amusement and slight disapproval on Molly's face as she watched her son.

Hermione found herself having a wonderful time, more so than usual. Every so often she would look around and see Draco looking at her. She would smile and turn back to whatever she was engaged in at the time. Judging by how he was looking at her on one or two occasions she had decided her choice of green was indeed a good one. Between these looks she danced and engaged in conversation, both casual and academic, with friends and colleagues alike. She had even agreed to act as George's assistant in a muggle magic show he was putting on for a small crowd. During her role as assistant the last of her paper bats – none of them had seemed too interested in flying around her hair all night - had fluttered over to Seamus Finnegan and taken up residence on his shoulder. Seamus seemed quite pleased with his new paper friend.

Hermione smiled at George's audience as she excused herself from the performance. Her eye had caught the unmistakable figure of Blaise. He smiled when he saw her approaching, arms open in greeting. She had a suspicion he might have had a few too many firewhiskeys as he was never usually open about their friendship in public. Spurred on by the wonderful time she was having – and, perhaps, the one or two firewhiskeys she had consumed during the festivities – Hermione happily hugged him in greeting. She laughed as Blaise spun her around in a twirl before starting to dance with her. He had just brought her up from a dip when she saw Ron over his shoulder.

"Mind if I cut in, mate?"

Blaise eyed Ron and then looked to Hermione. She nodded her acquiescence. Blaise returned her nod and smiled before leaving her and Ron. Ron offered her a hand and they started to dance, somewhat awkwardly.

"What we're you doing dancing with Blaise Zabini of all people?"

"We work in the same department, Ron; remember he started as an auror a year after you? We're quite friendly, if you must know."

"I could see just how friendly you were while you were dancing, Hermione. You should be careful or people might start talking."

Hermione bristled at his words and became stiff in his arms. "What exactly would they be talking about, Ronald? You're not going to give me that rubbish about "fraternising with the enemy" like you did at the Yule Ball are you?"

"He is from Slytherin, Hermione, and it's not like he or any others from his house were queuing up to help us fight Voldemort. Besides, that's not what I was getting at. People might think something is going on between you two, and if the _Prophet_ or _Witch Weekly_ get hold of that nugget of gossip they'll have a field day with it. Imagine what they'd say about you bumping uglies with a Slytherin"

Hermione stopped dead, letting go of Ron's hands. She narrowed her eyes at him. When she spoke her voice had a palpable edge of anger to it.

"Bumping uglies? Really, Ronald are you twelve? Even if I was sleeping with Blaise – which I am not," she added as he raised his eyebrows, "it's none of your business. It's no business of any paper or magazine. It's my business and my business alone! So if I want to sleep with a well-respected auror who just happens to be from Slytherin then _I will most certainly do so_! I am a grown woman, Ron, and I expect you to treat me as such!"

Her voice rose with the last sentence. Before Ron could answer there was an announcement for the guests to move to some newly conjured seats as the auction was about to start. Hermione turned from Ron and strode out of the atrium in anger. _How dare he!_ She thought to herself as her feet carried her along their well tread path to the elevators. She needed to put some space between her and Ron before she hexed him. She climbed into the elevator and was just about to press the button to her floor when Draco stepped in, the doors closing behind him.

"Where are you going to in such a huff?"

"I had an argument with Ron." She replied shortly, jabbing at the button to her floor, "I'm going to my office to try calm down."

"What is it with you and arguing with Weasel at balls? As I recall you set a flock of birds on him at the Yule Ball. The Slytherins found the incident quite amusing." He smirked at her, taking a step closer. Hermione's heart began to race.

"If I hadn't left my wand with Harry, you might have experienced those birds first hand in this elevator and from what I heard after the ball they were quite formidable."

He stepped even closer to her and she felt her breath hitch.

"I imagine they would be if you conjured them."

He made to take her waist with his left hand but before he could the elevator announced a stop of the Department of Magical Transportation – someone was getting on the elevator. Before the doors opened Draco was against the opposite side of the elevator; an air of casual indifference about him. Hermione greeted the stout wizard that entered. They rode in silence until her floor where she departed alone. She felt a pang of disappointment as the elevator doors closed behind her and she turned towards her office. She passed some aurors and patrol officers, clearly having a small party for those on duty. She smiled and declined an invitation to join.

Mercifully her office was empty and she sighed as she closed the main door. She sat at her desk, leaning back on her chair. She began to feel slightly foolish sitting in an empty office staring at her memo board. Perhaps storming away from the auction hadn't been the best course of action. She had wanted to try and bid on a rather lovely edition of _Hogwarts: A History_. It had some interesting side notes on the architecture in the original author's hand that she thought were quite interesting. She wasn't going to miss out on the book because of Ron. It wasn't the first time he had spoken to her on the topic, but it was the first time he had insulted someone she was quite fond of. She stood, irritated, to go back to the auction in hopes to still catch the book, when the door opened. She saw Draco step inside and close the door behind him.

"Is anyone else here?"

"No."

He waved his wand and she heard the door click as it locked. The dull sound of the small party down the hall vanished as he put up a silencing charm. Hermione was only vaguely aware of her feet carrying her towards him. Before she could stop to think about her actions she had reached Draco and pulled him into a kiss. His lips felt soft and warm against hers, a faint taste of firewhiskey lingering across their surface. Draco pulled her closer to him and she felt a soft moan escape her as her body pressed up against his. His lips parted as she made to deepen the kiss, the taste of firewhiskey becoming more apparent. She relished in the taste of him on her lips and the feel of him against her.

Draco moved her backwards towards the closest desk, lips still on hers, and lifted her onto it. She heard items scatter and fall as she made contact with the surface. Draco's wand clattered onto the desk from his hand. He pulled back from the kiss and looked Hermione in the eyes. She met his gaze unflinchingly and noticed that he was breathing heavily - much in the same manner as she was. She couldn't help but smirk. His eyes moved to her lips and followed their motion before he took her them with his once more. She brought her hands up to his head and wound her fingers tightly through his hair. He let out a small growl at the action and replied in kind by pressing his fingers hard into her back where his hands held her. She responded by arching her body closer to his; Hermione hadn't expected the sensation of pleasure that the pressure sent through her.

They broke apart abruptly at a sound coming from the door. Someone was trying to remove the charms. Hermione pushed Draco back and hopped off the desk, grabbing his wand. She heard a voice calling her name from the other side of the door. It was Ron, and he had clearly managed to lift the silencing charm. She pushed Draco so that he would be behind the door when it opened and tapped his wand over his head casting a disillusionment charm on him. She held up a finger to her lips to indicate he should remain silent before he disappeared. Ron's voice came from the other side of the door.

"Hermione, I've come to say sorry for earlier. Please let me in or I will unlock the door myself."

Hermione passed Draco's wand over to her left hand so Ron wouldn't see it and took a deep breath as she opened the door. She felt Draco taking the wand from her hand as it got closer to him with the motion from opening the door. Ron gave her a slightly quizzical look once she had opened the door. Hermione realised she must have looked quite flushed and hoped he would put it down to her still being upset about their argument. He moved forward as if to enter the room but Hermione stopped him, hand holding the door firmly in front of where she assumed Draco still stood.

"There's no need to come in, Ron. I was just about to leave."

"Listen, Hermione, before you go back down to the auction, I just want to say sorry for what I said. You were right. It's not my place to decide who you spend time with; platonically or otherwise." He finished with a hopeful smile.

Hermione looked at Ron as he continued to smile at her with increasing nervousness. She knew he was hoping she wouldn't hex him. She sighed and smiled back, as much as she wanted to be angry with him, she just couldn't.

"Apology accepted, but I swear to Merlin if you try and tell me who I can sleep with once more I will hex your balls off."

Ron screwed up his nose and gave her a disgusted look at the thought of her threat made real. He knew Hermione's hexes were not something to be trifled with.

"Let's get down to the auction. That book you were looking at is coming up for bidding soon." He looked behind her at the desk she had just been pressed onto, "You should tell McLaggen to tidy his desk. It's a right mess."

At his last words Hermione felt a pinch on her left buttock. She gave a small jerk and let out a little sound of surprise. Ron gave her a funny look.

"Hiccups."

"Maybe you should lay off the firewhiskey for the rest of the night."

Hermione huffed at Ron in her best Molly Weasley impression and pushed him back a little. She gave one last look over to where Draco had been standing before he had disappeared and descended back to the auction with Ron.

* * *

Hermione watched as the book she was interested in was introduced for auction. An orange memo flew towards her and Harry grabbed it just before it hit her in the face. She saw it was addressed to _H. Granger_ in a handwriting she recognised as belonging to Draco. She was just able to grab it from Harry before he had opened it fully.

"That's addressed to me, Harry."

He shrugged and turned back to the auction. Hermione missed the opening bid as she read the memo.

 _The password to my floo is:_

 _Nimbus_

 _Use it and you'll be brought directly to my room. You won't have to see any other part of the manor._

 _DM_

Hermione folded the note and tucked it into her clutch. The bids for the book continued but she made no motion to join in. Her heart was racing as she looked blankly at the back of the chair in front of her, repeating the words she had just read in her head. She didn't even hear the final bid for the book before the auctioneer's hammer fell.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Get some wine, it's** _ **that**_ **time in the story. If you aren't partial to such frivolities, feel free to skip it. Also, 100 followers? Whaaaaaaaat?! That is something I never expected when I started this.**

Hermione paced in her lounge before stopping and staring blankly at a bookcase. Her mind was still mulling over the memo Draco had sent her. She had fielded the questions from her friends over her lack of interest in the auction with vague answers about second thoughts and feeling tired. Her participation in the rest of the evening was executed with a certain level of detachment. Hermione had been aware of the sideways glances she was receiving from Harry and Ron but they did little to concern her; she was too busy with the struggle raging within her. It was that struggle that had stopped her from moving out of her lounge. She turned and looked at her discarded clutch, thrown to the couch on her entry into the room from the fire place. It lay there innocently, Draco's memo still within.

Hermione hadn't expected her flirtation with Draco to amount to much – she had assumed it would run the same course as many of her previous ones; heated exchanges that amounted to nothing or disappointment.

 _There certainly wasn't anything disappointing about that kiss you shared tonight._

She chastised herself for the thought. It wasn't helping her to keep a clear head. With a few lines of text Draco had thrown down the gauntlet for Hermione. Up until that memo Draco had been at the forefront of the flirtation. He had certainly taken the lead back in the office when he locked the door and put up a silencing charm. Hermione was smart enough to know what the combination of those two spells and an empty room would result in. A kiss was all good and well but now he was giving her the option to initiate something more; she might have thought it a gentlemanly move, allowing her the choice, if she wasn't so keenly aware of the motivation behind it. She knew by inviting her to the manor he was testing just how far she was willing to go. He must have known that she wouldn't just pop right over and hop into bed with him. If anything went wrong he could just point the finger at her and say she was the one who decided to come to him and take it further. She gave a frustrated huff and cursed at how Slytherin it all was.

 _You could always just stay at home; there's nothing forcing you to go._

She knew this was true. The Gryffindor within her was urging her to stay, to not play along. Yet a larger part of her was thoroughly enjoying the situation in its entirety. It wasn't the first time she had had secret relations with someone, but this was somehow different. There was an element of excitement and intrigue that went over and above what she had experienced previously. This was _Draco Malfoy_ after all - ex-Death Eater, former childhood adversary, someone despised by her two best friends. She knew she shouldn't be interested in him on any level, yet she had spent a portion of her evening pressed against his lips.

 _Don't over think it, Hermione. It's not like you're going to marry him._

She looked up at the wall clock; an hour had passed since she had returned home. If she was going to make a choice it had to be soon. She took a deep breath in and grabbed her clutch off the couch. She paused and looked down at her forearm as her hand closed around the bag. The knowledge of the scar that lay beneath the sleeve only seemed to strengthen her decision. She smiled darkly at the thought of how what she was about to do would have Bellatrix Lestrange turning in her grave.

* * *

Hermione was greeted by an empty room. A soft breeze brushed against her cheek and she turned to the open French doors. The curtains around the doors fluttered inwards as she paused in the doorframe. The doors opened onto a mid-sized, half-moon balcony. Standing near the intricate, wrought iron railing was Draco; his back was to Hermione but she felt like she could sense the satisfied smirk on his face. Without looking back he gestured, glass in hand, to his right. Next to him was a small table with a decanter of firewhiskey and a second glass holding some of the amber liquid. Hermione rolled her eyes at his back. She felt a bite of annoyance at his confidence that she would accept his invitation.

She moved forward, picking up the glass and stopping on the other side of the table. She looked out to the grounds – they were beautiful. Before them lay a dimly lit garden, clearly designed for outdoor entertaining. To the far left she could make out the shape of a maze, its hedges covered in some sort of flower. She took a sip of her firewhiskey and turned her head to look up at Draco – she had been correct about the smirk. He turned to return her gaze.

"Evening, Granger."

His tone had a slight teasing edge to it. He was clearly enjoying this situation a bit too much for Hermione's tastes.

"I have some rules for this." She said, gesturing between them with the hand occupied by her firewhiskey.

"When does Hermione Granger not have rules to follow?"

His question was casual and teasing in its tone but Hermione ignored it, continuing with what she had to say.

"I'm under no illusion that the events of tonight are the start of some grand romance. I do need to ask that whatever happens tonight and any further," she paused looking for the right word, " _interactions_ that might happen need to stay between us. I value privacy when it comes to my love life. Say anything about what happens, anything at all, and what I did to Marietta Edgecombe will be mild in comparison to the hex you will be on the receiving end of."

While she was speaking, Draco had put down his glass and moved behind her. She kept her eyes ahead of her as she felt his hands lightly trace over her shoulders and down her arms, coming to rest just above her elbows. She felt a shiver down her spine when his voice whispered into her ear.

"What if I don't agree to any of these terms, Granger?"

"I leave and this ends now."

"Well, then, you leave me no choice but to agree."

"I-"

Hermione tried to continue with her terms, but Draco had interrupted her by abruptly turning her to face him. The motion caused some firewhiskey to spill over the rim of her glass. She let out a sigh of pleasure as he ran his lips over her neck. Coldness pressed against her back as she made contact with the balcony's railing. Her glass knocked the metal and she lost her grip on it, causing it to fall over the edge. It was a moment before she heard the sound of shattering as it hit the paving below. Draco paused and looked over to where it had landed before shrugging and returning his lips to her neck.

Thought of the glass was pushed from her mind as she felt him run his hand down body. He grabbed the fabric of her dress and pulled it up as he moved his hand up to her ass; squeezing it as he lifted her off her feet and up against him. Hermione replied to the motion by wrapping her legs around his waist. She moved her hands from his shoulder along his neck and into his hair, wrapping it tightly in her fingers. She pulled his head back so he was forced to look up at her, catching a flash of annoyance in his eyes.

"I'd like for my hair to stay attached to my scalp."

"You'll survive."

Hermione smirked at him before moving down to kiss him. She felt the familiar tingle of firewhiskey lightly against her lips. She pressed the kiss deeper until she felt his lips part. The taste of him on her tongue caused a small moan to escape from her. Draco tightened his grip on her ass and moved them back through the doors. He carried her effortlessly across the room stopping just before he reached the bed. Hermione broke the kiss and unfurled herself from around him. Desire shivered down her spine as Draco began to slowly unzip her dress, kissing her neck as he did so. When the zip reached its end he moved his hands to the top of her dress once more and began to peel the dress off her. The cool air pressed against her skin as the dress fell. She felt goose bumps blossom over her unclothed breasts and spread over her torso.

Draco pulled away from her neck and looked Hermione in the eye as he began to trace his hands over her skin. She lifted her hands to his shirt and began to unbutton it. As the last button came undone she slid her hands under the shirt fanning her fingers over his warm skin. Her eyes followed her hands as they trailed up his torso tracing the ridges and contours of muscle, moving the shirt open as she went. She began to move the shirt off him when his fingers wrapped round her wrists stopping her from continuing. Hermione looked up and met his eyes. She realised he didn't want to reveal his mark.

"I don't care about it." The words fell from her mouth, their certainty belying how she actually felt about the mark.

She wasn't keen on having to see the mark, but her desire for him in that moment overwhelmed any feeling she might have had towards the skull and snake. Draco continued to hold her gaze, eyes searching hers briefly before he released his grip on her wrists. She pushed his shirt off his shoulders and down his arms. As the shirt fell from him, Draco pulled her hard against him with one hand. The abruptness and force of the action sent Hermione's heart racing. His free hand moved to behind her head as he took her lips with his, the kiss infused with a sense of urgency and desire. Hermione felt the same feelings rise within her as she undid Draco's pants. He moved her back towards the bed as he stepped out of them, using the forward movement to slip out of his shoes. He bent to quickly remove his socks. Hermione was glad he did so, she had hated in when Ron had left his on; finding it lazy and counterproductive to her desire. Her own shoes had come off during their return trip to the bedroom.

Before she could react, Draco had grabbed her legs and pulled them out from under her so she fell back onto the bed. Taken by surprise she closed her eyes and let out a little squeal as she fell backwards, an uncontrolled giggle releasing itself from her lips as she landed. She felt the mattress dip on either side of her as Draco put his hands next to her. She opened her eyes to see his face above hers.

"Something funny, Granger?" he asked through a smirk.

Draco didn't give her time to answer as he began to kiss her once more, his teeth pulling at her lower lip, teasing her. Hermione brought her hands up to his body and lightly dragged her nails over his pale skin, bringing them up along his torso and stopping on his chest. He lifted his left hand from the bed and took both her wrists in it, breaking their kiss as he moved them above her, pinning them to the bed. She saw his eyes flick to her _mudblood_ scar before returning to her face. He pressed her wrists down further into the bed as he used the hand for leverage; bringing the right to Hermione's skin. She arched her back in response to his touch; desire flaring across her skin as he trailed his fingers down her torso. She felt his fingers slip beneath the lace of her underwear and moaned as they met their destination.

Her breath quickened as Draco began to kiss her neck moving down to her chest with slow, deliberate movements. Her fingers clawed at the soft fabric of his bed covers. His grip on her wrists remained firm as Hermione felt a pressure building within her, causing her to body to tense beneath his. She turned her head to the side and moaned Draco's surname into the bed covers. His lips paused momentarily above her heaving chest as he caught his family name escaping her lips before continuing his ministrations. She soon began to writhe beneath him as she reached her precipice. Draco's lips had moved their way back up to her neck. She felt them pause at her ear.

"Say my name, Granger."

His command sent a ripple through Hermione. "Malfoy" left her lips in a throaty, breathless moan. He tightened his grip on her wrists as his fingers quickened their pace.

"My name, Granger. _Say it."_

Goose bumps spread across Hermione's neck. Stubbornness began to mingle with her desire and she closed her eyes, moaning his surname once more. He let out a growl in her ear and she felt him pull away from her, letting go of her wrists. She opened her eyes to see him grabbing her underwear and pulling the garment off her; he discarded it to the side – his own followed suit soon after. He took her ankle and pulled her to the edge of the bed, roughly grabbing her hips when they were close enough. He pulled them up towards him and Hermione mewled as they met each other. She grabbed at the covers as Draco established an aggressive, determined pace. Every movement made Hermione feel like she might explode with pleasure. She moaned his surname again.

At the sound of his surname Draco's hands moved to the middle of her back and he abruptly pulled her up from the bed; Hermione's legs instinctively wrapped around him. The earlier dragging movement had loosened her hair from its bun and she felt pieces of it fall around her face and down her back as she was brought prone against his torso. Her one hand went to his hair while the other pressed hard into his upper back. She let her nails press into his back and he sneered at her for it. She gave him her best Malfoy-esque smirk in return, tightening her grip on his hair and roughly kissing him. His taste on her lips nearly tipped Hermione over the edge.

Hermione tightened the grip of her legs as Draco moved his one hand to her ass. He kept his lips to hers as he took a few steps before pressing her hard against the wall closest to his bed. She let out a growl of her own as her back met the cool surface of the wall. Draco re-established his previous pace and Hermione involuntarily dug her nails further into his back. He returned his lips to her chest, nipping at her flesh every now and then. The warmth of Draco's skin against hers and the feel of his ragged breath against her chest made Hermione let out a husky sigh. Hermione felt little drops of perspiration forming on their skin as Draco kept up his pace. She pulled his head back and kissed him deeply, savouring how he tasted, how he felt. She soon came to the edge of her desire, body tensing in Draco's grip and her eyes clenching shut. Draco felt her tense and spoke into her chest, his voice breathy and ragged.

"Say it."

Her grip on him tightened as her back arched away from the wall, pushing her body harder against his.

"SAY IT!"

Hermione's head rolled back against the wall as Draco pressed his fingers hard into her body. The pressure of them on her was enough to push her over the edge. His given name tumbled from her in a satisfied moan as she came. She could feel his lips curl into a satisfied smirk against her chest but she didn't care.

* * *

Narcissa Malfoy walked with her husband through the maze on their grounds. They had decided to spend Halloween alone together this year, neither in any mood to socialise at an event. It was quite late in the night to be out on the grounds but Lucius had suggested they walk it once more after reminiscing about the first time they had done so. Before they had entered he conjured hundreds of her favourite flowers along the hedges that made up the maze. She had smiled at the gesture, thinking of how he had done the same during their first ever walk through it. She cherished these moments, when she was reminded of the Lucius she had known before Voldemort. He had never been perfect, but he had been less troubled in those days.

When they reached the end of the maze Lucius pulled her into a tight, loving hug. Narcissa smiled as he kissed her gently on the top of the head. She looked up towards him but was distracted by the sight of her son standing with a woman on his bedroom's balcony. Draco moved behind the woman and began kissing her neck giving Narcissa a better view of who it was. Her eyes widened when she realised it was Hermione Granger.

"Something wrong, 'Cissy?"

"Nothing, Lucius. Nothing at all." She replied looking back to her husband making sure his eyes were on her.

There was a crash of glass against a hard surface and Lucius turned to the sound before Narcissa could stop him. He looked up to the balcony and saw Draco but had evidently not recognised who he was with.

"Who has he brought home this time?"

Narcissa quickly pulled his face back towards her and kissed him on the lips.

"He's young, Lucius. Let him have his privacy."

"He needs to find a suitable, pure-blood witch and settle down. We were married by his age, for Merlin's sake, and I do not care for the idea of the Malfoy name potentially being tainted by some bastard child because he isn't discerning enough in his tastes."

He tried to turn his head to look at the couple again, but Narcissa held it firmly in place. She looked her husband in the eye.

"Leave it, Lucius." She said sternly.

Over her husband's shoulder saw the two move from the balcony into the room. She let Lucius take another look at the balcony now that it was empty.

"Beside, my dear husband, we are reminiscing about the adventures we had during our youth. As I recall the journey through this maze did not end in a simple hug."

Narcissa gave Lucius a coy smile as he bent down to kiss her.


	9. Chapter 9

Draco stirred. There was a dull throb emanating from his temples – a gift from the previous evening's firewhiskey. He rolled from his side onto his back and collected his thoughts, trying to recall when he had fallen asleep. His mind would not let him find the moment sleep took him, instead offering him recollections of the previous night's activities. Thoughts of Hermione crowded his mind's eye; her flushed face, the taste of her, the sound of his name on her lips. He opened his eyes and turned in the bed towards were he assumed she lay. He was greeted by an empty space next to him.

The sight made him frown. Draco turned to check if the balcony doors were open- perhaps Hermione was outside. The doors were closed so he climbed out of bed. The air in the room was cool against his bare skin. He made his way over to his bathroom and paused at the door when he saw it was devoid of the witch. He turned back to his room, noticing that her things were gone. His own clothes were neatly folded on the chair by the fireplace. He let out an irritated snort. Evidently Hermione had taken the time to tidy before she had left.

 _Before she snuck away from you._

The thought made Draco bristle. He wasn't used to being the person who woke to an empty bed the next morning – it was usually the other way around. He moved to his cupboard and pulled out a pair of pants, pulling them on with more aggression than was necessary. He was about to put on a shirt when there was a knock at the door.

"What?" he called still annoyed.

The door opened and his mother walked in. Narcissa was already dressed for the day, her hair in a graceful side bun and robes immaculate as always. She smiled at her son as he pulled a half buttoned shirt over his head. The movement drew her eyes to a few thin scratches over his ribs. She quickly moved her eyes back to his face as it emerged from the shirt. Draco finished buttoning up his shirt before looking at his mother.

"What is it, mother? I'm sure you didn't come here to just stand in my room."

"I came to see if you and your guest from last night would like to join us for breakfast. Mopsy has made some wonderful pancakes." Narcissa paused as she surveyed the room, "I see that unfortunately I am too late with my invitation as it appears she has already departed."

Draco kept his face impassive. He wasn't surprised that his mother knew he had had someone over; not much went unnoticed by her. He knew that if she was aware that it was Hermione who had been over last night, she would never divulge it outright – she would wait for him to confirm it first. Draco refused to offer up any information on the matter.

"Well observed, mother. I'll be down in a minute. Feel free to start without me."

Narcissa smiled as she exited the room.

* * *

Draco sat eating his breakfast in silence. His mother and father spoke to each other, asking him questions every now and then. He gave them direct answers but did not engage in conversation any further than what was necessary. Narcissa always insisted on them eating together when they were able. Draco knew it was her way of trying to repair their family after the war; so he sat through the often awkward and tense meals. There had been several occasions over the years where shouting matches had broken out between him and his father. Draco's view of the world and his goals for life had changed since the war and it remained a point of contention between them. The morning's breakfast had been positively relaxed when compared to those meals.

A small hand placed the Sunday copy of the _Daily Prophet_ next to Draco's father. His father took it without acknowledging Mopsy. Draco turned to smile at her as she bowed and scurried back to the kitchen. His attention was brought back the table as heard the sound of his father slamming the paper down onto the table. The force of it made his mother jump slightly in her seat. Draco took a bracing breath in as he reached for his coffee. He was in no mood to deal with his father's temper this morning. As he lifted his coffee the cover of the _Prophet_ was flung onto his plate, scattering food over the table. He looked down to see a photograph of himself and Hermione at the previous evening's ball. His photographic self took Hermione's wrist in the image and she turned to look up at him. The image had been taken secretly by the look of its quality. Draco picked up the paper to read the article that accompanied the image but didn't get past Rita Skeeter's name before his father's voice cut across the table.

"Explain yourself."

"She's helping my department with some research. I was asking her a question regarding the matter. You know what that Skeeter woman is like. She could have seen me touch a doorknob and the next day I would be dating it."

Draco kept his voice impassive. He would have loved to see the look on his father's face if he told him what actually happened at the Ministry and later that night, but he had agreed to be discreet and wasn't going to jeopardise any opportunity for a repeat of the previous evening.

"Then who was that witch your mother and I saw you with on the balcony with? It better not have been _her_." Lucius jabbed in the direction of the photo, "I don't need you embarrassing the Malfoy name by shacking up with some mudblo-"

Draco interrupted his father with a loud, hollow laugh. It was abrupt and filled with disdain. He could see it spark anger in his father's eyes.

"Embarrass the Malfoy name? I think you did that enough yourself after Voldemort returned, _father._ "

Draco sneered the last word, rising from his chair. Rage exploded across Lucius's face as he, too, shot up from his chair and drew his wand on Draco. Draco held his father's gaze as his own jaw clenched with anger.

"That's it! Go ahead and fucking curse me! Put the precious Malfoy name out of its fucking misery!"

Draco did not raise his voice, but his anger was laced into every word. His father's continued insistence on keeping the Malfoy name " _pure_ " had driven him to become contemptuous of his familial name. Most of Voldemort's supporters had publically professed to have changed their views, but behind closed doors many still clung to certain views regarding blood purity. Lucius, like many of his friends, had still been particularly insistent on their children marrying suitable pure blood candidates and producing heirs. The topic had caused many heated, at times violent, arguments between Draco and his father. His mother had never pressed the matter further after their first argument about Draco marrying.

"ENOUGH!"

Both Draco and his father turned abruptly to Narcissa. She rose from her chair and looked between the two men; turning to her husband and lowering his wand with her hand. When she spoke her voice rang with authority and barley concealed anger.

"I will not have you two acting like this! I was able to see who was on that balcony clearly, Lucius. It wasn't Miss Granger."

Narcissa looked pointedly at Draco when she spoke the last sentence. He felt his stomach clench with surprise as he realised she had known it was Hermione on the balcony and she was lying to his father about it. She must have seen the flutter of shock that passed over his features because dipped her head slightly in acknowledgement.

"Draco, please leave us. I would like to have a word with your father in private."

Draco gave his father one last sneer before turning on his heel and exiting the room.

* * *

Hermione turned into her department's offices to find Harry and Cormac arguing about quidditch. She was already behind schedule for the day and her body ached slightly. She had slipped away from Draco as dawn broke on Sunday, only getting a few hours of sleep before waking and doing research late into the night for work. She had woken half an hour later than her usual rising time this morning, having fallen asleep on the couch with a book of case studies. She sighed, causing Harry and Cormac to stop arguing and look at her.

"You're late this morning, Hermione."

"As work doesn't officially start for another twenty minutes, Cormac, I think you'll find that statement incorrect."

"Since you normally arrive an hour before work starts, I think you'll find my statement is correct."

Hermione scowled slightly at Cormac's arrogant tone, before turning away from him. She offered Harry a weak smile of greeting as she walked around to her desk and began unpacking her things. She looked up to see Cormac giving her a strange look before he sat at his own desk. Harry moved around to her side and conjured himself a chair, taking a seat next to her. In her current mood, Hermione found the action annoying. She wanted to start her work for the day so she could leave early and catch up on some sleep.

"I suppose you haven't seen yesterday's Prophe _t_."

He pulled a paper out of his robes and gave it to Hermione. She took it with a huff, her eyes widening at the cover. Under the main article was an image of her and Draco at the masked ball accompanied by an article speculating about their relationship. Apparently she was no longer a home wrecker but a thrill seeker ready to throw away her reputation completely for a good time and maybe a galleon or two. She wondered how someone had been able to take the photo – press had not been allowed into the event except for during the auction. She frowned and remembered the bar tender who had given her a strange look. He must have had a camera on him in order to take some photos he could sell for a quick sickle or two. She let out a frustrated growl as she crumpled up the paper in her hands, muttering obscenities about what constitutes front page reporting as she went about it. She shoved the paper back into Harry's hands and scowled at him.

"She's really scraping the bottom of the cauldron here. Ever since she registered herself as an animagus, Skeeter's been a right pain in the arse again." He threw the crumpled paper into a bin across the room, "Like you'd ever be interested in that pointy faced ferret."

"He was just asking me something about work."

Hermione offered the lie even though Harry hadn't asked what was going on in the picture; feeling like she needed to give some sort of justification for the image. She turned to her desk to avoid Harry's eyes. She felt bad adding her tryst with Draco to the list of things she was keeping from him but she wasn't ready to deal with the fallout that would result from him knowing. She highly doubted that Harry would understand any sort of motive she had for her actions concerning Draco over the last few weeks. She wasn't quite sure she understood them herself. Harry stood, removing his chair with a flick of his wand. He bent and gave Hermione a small kiss on the head.

"Don't worry about it 'Mione. That woman is looking for nargles with her story and people will see that. Anyway, I have to get going. There have been a few new leads in that case about the French wizard's murder and we need to follow up on them. I hope they don't lead to dead ends, this case is giving me enough grey hairs as it is."

"I'm sure you'll be able to pull off the silver fox look, Harry."

"Silver fox? I'm not _that_ old, 'Mione!"

* * *

Hermione hauled a large book onto the table she was occupying, adding to the already mountainous pile she had built around her. She had decided to work through her lunch as she knew she would be in no mood to do any further research that evening. She opened the book and breathed in the scent of its pages. She loved spending time in the Ministry's archives. They reminded her of the Hogwarts library, only without the crowds of annoying students and terrifying matron. Compared to Madam Pince the elderly archive manager at the Ministry was as threatening as a flobberworm – Hermione often found him asleep at his desk. Wembly was a quiet man but he and Hermione got along well and when Hermione needed to stay late for research, he would often leave her to lock up when she was done.

After some time reading, Hermione was distracted from her book by the arrival of a memo from her department. She unfolded it to see a newspaper clipping attached to it. She undid the clipping before reading the note. Turning the clipping, she saw it was the image of her and Draco from the ball. The sender had added a rather unflattering moustache and horns to Draco, who was scowling out the image with indignant rage. A small crown had been drawn on Hermione's head, who was laughing heartily at her counterpart in the picture. She laughed out loud at the additions before reading the text that accompanied the image.

 _Was my dancing really so horrible that it drove you into the arms of another Slytherin?_

 _You wound me, Hermione. It's a deep wound - sliced by the blade of your betrayal._

 _I may never recover._

 _Blaise_

Hermione laughed before feeling a pang of guilt. Here was another friend she was keeping this secret from and all he was trying to do was make her feel better about an article he knew would upset her. She paused before quickly penning her own reply and sending the note back to its author.

 _Don't be so overdramatic._

 _Just use some essence of dittany. It should clear that cut right up._

Hermione checked her watch and saw that she still had some time before she needed to return to her desk. She desperately wished she could spend the rest of the day in the archives; the expansive isles of parchment and books were so quiet, so comfortable, and there was no one to notice if she took a quick nap on her desk. She closed her eyes as she thought of how blissful sleep would be. She felt her head come to rest against her book and inhaled its scent once more before falling asleep.

In what felt like moments later, Hermione awoke with a start. Her sleep had been disturbed by a loud thud in front of her. She focused on Draco's face and she blinked away the last dregs of sleep. He had dropped a book on top of the pile which sat before her. She scowled at him and was about to ask him what he thought he was getting at when he cut her off.

"It's rude to leave someone's house without saying goodbye, Granger."

"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus." She replied, closing her book before straightening herself out. "What do you want, Malfoy? I need to get done here before going back to my desk."

"Not much point, seeing as everyone has left for the day."

Hermione gave him another scowl before looking at her watch. She swore when she saw that it was just after six. She shoved her notes angrily into her bag as she chastised herself for having fallen asleep. She tried to extricate some notes from under a large pile of books without toppling them. It was not a successful endeavour and Hermione swore once more as she flicked her wand at the books, returning them all to their original places on the shelves. She looked up to see Draco watching her with the same look she had seen in his eyes at the Halloween ball. She felt a pang of desire flare up inside her.

"What do you want, Malfoy?"

Draco leant over the desk, taking Hermione's shirt in his right hand and pulling her into a kiss. Hermione brought her hands up to his face, kissing him deeply as she felt her heart starting to race. Thoughts of their last encounter flicked across her mind and she began to long for the feel of him against her. She pulled back from the kiss before the desire for him overwhelmed her.

"Not here. I have to go back to my desk, but I'll come to you in around an hour. I'll leave here first and you follow five minutes later."

"My place isn't an option tonight, Granger." Draco didn't elaborate any further and Hermione did not press him on the matter.

"Fine. Do you still remember my address from when you helped me home?" Draco nodded and she continued, "Same plan then. See you in an hour."

She finished up at the desk and made to leave. Draco's fingers closed on her arm and she felt herself being moved against a bookcase. Draco bent down to her neck and kissed it softly. Hermione felt her body quiver with excitement. She couldn't help but release a whisper of a moan.

"Skip the desk. I'll see you in twenty minutes."

Draco moved away allowing her to slip from him and move towards the exit. She was glad to see that Wembly had left for the day as she walked past his desk to the elevator. She paused before she pressed the button to call it. The elevator took a few moments to arrive but she made no attempt to board it when the doors opened. She took out her wand and muttered _homenum revelio_. She moved forward scanning for markers. She only came across one near to where she had been doing her research. She gripped her wand slightly tighter as she walked towards the marker. Her heart raced at the uncharacteristic recklessness she was feeling. There were no locked doors to hide behind on this occasion; she would have to cast a disillusionment charm just to be safe – she wasn't _that_ reckless.

Hermione stopped at the end of the isle in which Draco sat. She bit at her bottom lip at the sight of him reclining in a chair, legs up on the table, paging through a book. Draco looked up at the sound of her bag dropping to the floor. He brought his legs down from the table and casually threw the book back onto it. As Hermione walked towards him she flicked her wand at the chair in which he was seated – it moved to face her. She bent to kiss Draco as she straddled him on the chair. She made to cast a disillusionment charm over them but Draco took her wand from her hand before she could finish the movement.

"None of that," he said placing her wand on the table next to them, "and don't think this means I won't be coming over tonight. I intend on seeing you in that quidditch jersey again."

Hermione hesitated at the idea of being unconcealed, she felt far too exposed. Suddenly the silence of the archives felt distracting. Draco must have seen her uncertainty because he pulled her into a deep kiss. She breathed in the scent of him as her lips parted. He brought his hands up her back in order to free her hair from the bun in which she was wearing it. She pulled back from the kiss and watched his face as he ran his fingers through her hair, spreading it out from the bun. His eyes followed his fingers on their path down her hair, seeming to be lost in the movement, before he looked back at her. Hermione felt her chest clench with excitement at the look he had in his eyes. She moaned as he began kissing her down her neck, his lips leaving a familiar tingling sensation along her skin. Hermione gave a small sigh of acceptance as she realised that she would be having another sleepless night.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: You know what they say… "When life gives you lemons"…**

Hermione arrived home after an exhausting week at work. Her department had been working overtime in a last push to finalise several new laws before they were put to a vote just before Christmas. She had been putting in even more hours than her colleagues in order to take leave over Christmas into the New Year. Her parents where coming to London for the holidays and she was looking forward to seeing them.

With all that was happening at work Hermione had had very little time to herself and was greatly looking forward to a somewhat relaxed weekend. There would still be work to be done, but at a far less frantic pace as the week had seen. She had arranged for a late brunch with Ron, Lavender, Ginny and Harry the following morning as she has seen so little of them over the last week or two. Harry had become increasingly worn by the case he was working on. Both Ginny and she felt that a morning with friends would provide some necessary relief.

Spare a few sideways glances when they were near each other; she and Draco hadn't seen each other since their frivolities in the archives and later that night at her place. She had found herself thinking increasingly of the Slytherin as the week wore on. Her mind kept returning to how much she had enjoyed their last two encounters; how much she had enjoyed all that had passed between them since the night of her attack. Once, during a particularly boring monologue from Cormac, her mind drifted and she had found herself comparing Draco to Ron. Although the circumstances were different she couldn't deny that her time with Ron had been different. There had been awkwardness to their romantic encounters and Hermione had never truly allowed herself to let go. By no means had Ron been a poor lover, but she had never reacted to him the way she had done to Draco. Eventually she had pushed herself to remember that she shouldn't overthink what was happening between them and enjoy it while it lasted. Cormac was still talking as she came to her conclusion on the matter.

Hermione had just settled onto the couch after a relaxing bath when she heard a ring to announce someone was flooing in. Given the hour she reached for her wand and aimed it at to the fireplace. Only a handful of people knew her home address but she was cautious none the less. She lowered the wand as she saw Draco step out from the green flames. He seemed agitated as he exited but he hid his expression when he saw Hermione was in the room.

"Malfoy, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," His reply was clipped and unconvincing as he tied to continue with a more glib tone, "and I would have thought it was obvious why I was here considering the last time we were together."

Hermione wasn't convinced by his words. She could see there was a tension to his movements as Draco crossed the room towards her. She had to lie back along the couch as he climbed over her, his weight pinning her in place. She moved her head out the way as he made to kiss her. She saw his jaw clench in irritation briefly.

"You aren't fooling anyone, Malfoy. I saw you sulking enough at Hogwarts after losing to Gryffindor to know that you're unhappy about something."

"Let it go, Granger."

Hermione saw Draco's jaw clench slightly again before he began kissing her neck. He shifted his weight slightly in order to run his hand under her shirt. Hermione pushed against his chest to stop any further movements. He glared at her in return. Hermione met his eyes unflinchingly.

"We both know that won't happen."

Hermione felt his body tense against her before he pushed himself up off the couch. He moved back towards the fireplace.

"Fine. I'll just go find another witch to spend the evening with."

Hermione was annoyed by his words and she briefly considered hexing him for being so petty. She wasn't some stupid bint who would beg him to stay at the idea of him being with someone else.

"Stop acting like such a child because you aren't getting your way and tell me what's bothering you."

Draco just ignored her and reached for the floo. Hermione pointed her wand at it and it flew towards her. Draco caught it without much effort, scowling at Hermione as he did so. In reply she sent a stinging hex at his hand. He dropped the box with a growl. She summoned it to her before it could hit the floor. Draco stood glaring at Hermione, but didn't say a thing. Hermione rolled her eyes at him. She was in no mood to deal with this kind of behaviour and wasn't about to let her evening be ruined by him. She lifted the box towards him so he could take it. As he took the box Hermione's eye caught sight of a large, angry looking welt on his forearm.

"What is that?" she asked, grabbing his arm before he could move it away.

"It's nothing."

"Do you think I'm stupid enough to not know this is from a hex? Sit down so I can treat it."

"Just leave it. I can tre-"

" _Sit._ " Hermione cut him off, getting more annoyed by his behaviour.

When he didn't move she repeated the command, pointing to the couch aggressively. Draco scowled at her again before walking to the couch and dumping himself unceremoniously upon it. He flung the floo box onto the coffee table. Hermione summoned some essence of dittany from her bathroom and took a seat next to his injured arm. Draco held it out for her but didn't look at her. She shook her head as she opened the vial in her hand. He winced as he applied the liquid to his arm, rubbing it gently across his skin.

"How did you get this?" she asked. When he didn't answer she added, "Merlin, you're as stubborn as a Gryffindor."

Draco shot her an annoyed look out the corner of his eye before turning back to the wall opposite him. Hermione carried on applying the dittany in a deliberately slow manner.

"I tried to punch my father and he deflected it with the hex that gave me the welt."

Hermione looked up from Draco's arm. His gaze hadn't moved from the opposite wall. Hermione was shocked at the revelation. She hadn't expected the injury to have come from his father. Draco must have been furious to physically attack his father rather than use magic. She couldn't keep the shock and confusion from her voice when she spoke.

"What happened that you would try to punch your own father?"

"Nothing you need to worry about."

"But I will worry about it."

Hermione gently placed her hand on his injured arm. He turned to look down to where it lay against his skin before looking up to her. His eyes were without emotion as he scanned over Hermione's concerned face. Draco turned his head back to the opposite wall before he spoke.

"He does not approve of many of my choices, especially concerning my love life. He believes that I should already be married to a suitable witch in order to produce an heir to the Malfoy fortune."

"He doesn't know about us, does he?"

"No, but ever since that article about us he has been particularly aggressive in his attempts to shove me at the unmarried daughters of his pure blood associates. He's renewed my mother's old attempts to push Astoria Greengrass on me."

"Do they both want you to marry a pure blood?" Hermione asked as he continued to rub dittany on his arm. She wasn't sure if she was pushing him too much on the topic but her curiosity had gotten of her.

"My father does. He may not be as fanatical as he was under Voldemort, but he won't let go of the idea that I need to keep the Malfoy bloodline pure. I don't think my mother is that concerned about it. She hasn't really spoken about it since we first argued on the matter. Didn't stop her from trying to fob Astoria on me; probably more because she likes her than anything else."

He sunk further back into the couch, letting his head come to rest on the back of it. He brought his free hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose and let out a tired sigh. Hermione had finished applying the dittany but her fingers continued to draw circles absent-mindedly on his arm as she watched him. He rolled his head to the side and looked down at her fingers. Hermione followed his gaze down to her hand and quickly withdrew it when she realised what she was doing; she blushed slightly at how intimate the action had been. Draco turned towards her, bending his head down to hers. He lifted her face to his and kissed her; it was gentle and sincere. Hermione closed her eyes and felt her chest clench. He pulled back slightly and she opened her eyes onto his, feeling a shiver along her spine.

"Thanks, Granger."

Draco moved away from her in order to stand and leave, but Hermione, overcome with an immediate and unfettered desire for him, grabbed his shirt and pulled him back to her. Their lips met roughly as they began to tug frantically at each other's clothes. There was a desperation to their desire and Hermione craved the feel of him. They had barely removed their clothes when Hermione climbed onto Draco. He let out a sharp breath as his head fell against her chest.

"Shit, Granger!" he gasped into her skin as he grabbed her hips tightly.

Hermione felt goose bumps spread across her skin. Her heart was pounding in her chest as Draco forced her to move faster. Every movement sent a thrilling sense of want through her and she was soon balancing on the knife's edge of her desire. Draco kissed her chest, each contact setting her skin on fire. His hands wandered her body with a desire that matched her own, returning to her hips as her body began to tense. She moaned his name as she closed her eyes and felt satisfaction cut through her. His grip tightened on her hips as her movements stuttered. She placed her palms on the couch to brace herself and opened her eyes to see Draco looking up at her smirking. Her lips formed a small smile as she brought her forehead to meet his.

She brought her hands up from the couch to the back of his head, lacing her fingers through his hair. Draco kissed her roughly and began a more determined pace as she pulled him against her; she savoured how his skin felt warm against hers. His hands made their way up her back and she inadvertently tightened her grip on his hair. Draco pressed his fingers harder into her back as his body began to tense against her. His fingers dug deeper into her and she moaned his name before the tension fell from his muscles, his pace slowing and his breath coming in uneven, heavy bursts. Draco swore quietly as he fell back against the couch, dragging his hands down Hermione's body till they came to rest on her legs. After a moment he rolled his head to the side, looking to the corner of the couch.

"You spilt the dittany."

Hermione turned to the direction of his gaze. The dittany bottle lay discarded in the far corner of the couch. Its contents had spilt out to stain the fabric around it. Hermione let out deep, joyous laugh at how ridiculous it was for him to notice such a thing. She bent forward and kissed him on the temple. Draco closed his eyes as her lips made contact and he let a little huff of air escape through his smile.

* * *

Hermione lay prone on her bed, propped up on her elbows. A book lay open against her pillow. She had changed into Draco's old quidditch jersey and tied her hair in a loose bun when it had begun to interfere with her reading. Draco stepped into the doorway from the hall holding a camera.

"What kind of muggle camera is this, Granger? I tried to take a photo with it and it spat out a piece of paper with nothing on it."

Hermione looked over her shoulder at him. He was holding her father's old Polaroid camera. Her grandparents had given it to him on his twenty-first birthday and he had passed it down to her when she turned the same age. She hoped to someday hand it down to one of her own children.

"That piece of paper it 'spits out', as you so eloquently put it, is the photo. It takes some time for it to appear."

He lifted the camera and aimed it in Hermione's direction. She gave him a smile as she heard the shutter click. He took the photo from the camera and looked at it in anticipation. He frowned after a few seconds.

"This is taking too long."

"You're about as patient as a niffler near something shiny, you know that?"

Draco raised an eyebrow at Hermione's comments. He put the camera down on the dresser with the photograph next to it before walking to the pile of books on her one bedside table. He looked over them before settling on a title he liked. Draco let himself fall onto the bed next to Hermione. She scowled at him as her book slipped from the pillow, closing so she lost her place. He gave her a shrug and turned to open his own book.

"I'm going downstairs for water, do you want anything?"

He shook his head to say no and Hermione turned to go to the kitchen. She returned some time later to find Draco asleep, his book lying open on his chest. It was a strange sight, Draco Malfoy sleeping on her bed. Last time he had been over he left shortly after they had finished their activities for the night. Hermione paused as she considered how to handle the situation. She reasoned that he would probably slip away later as she slept, so she saw no point in waking him. Neither was she particularly keen on the idea of what might be waiting for him at home after the argument with his father. Hermione walked to the wand on her bedside table. She picked it up and sent the book back to its original pile. She flicked it at the bed and magicked the covers over Draco before turning the bedside lamp off and climbing into bed herself. It wasn't long before she, too, was lost to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

Hermione paused, eyes still closed, before stretching away her sleep. She let out a small sound of surprise as her arm came into contact with another body. She drew her arm back to herself as Draco stirred, turning on his side towards her. Before Hermione could move to get up Draco's arm extended over her, pulling her closer to him. He let out a deep sigh as he continued to sleep. Hermione tried to move several times but was unable to. Draco only seemed to become heavier with every attempt. She closed her eyes and gave a defeated exhale; this was not what she had expected to wake up to this morning. Hermione had to admit to herself that it wasn't a particularly horrid way to wake up. Draco felt warm against her and she felt the familiar pull of sleep come over her again.

 _Five more minutes couldn't hurt._

When Hermione opened her eyes once more, it was to a bed devoid of the Draco. She stopped to briefly consider the pang of disappointment that she felt. She wasn't sure where it had come from. She pushed down the feeling as the smell of coffee came wafting into the room from downstairs. She stretched languidly before getting out of bed. She turned towards her clock; she still had about an hour before her guests would be arriving for their brunch. She started at the sound of a ring from the fireplace. It was followed by the sound of feet bounding up the stairs. She turned to see Draco slipping into the room, two cups of half empty coffee in his hands; most of the contents having spilled out on his way upstairs. Ginny's voice drifted up from the lounge.

"Hermione?"

Hermione's eyes widened at the sound of her friend's voice. She looked at Draco pointedly and made a shooing motion towards her en suite. He gave her a gleeful smirk as she pushed him towards the bathroom. The mugs sloshed what was left of their contents on the carpet as she shoved him along. She hated how much he seemed to enjoy her panic at being caught. He looked down at her from over his shoulder.

"Shirt."

Hermione ripped the green shirt off as she heard Ginny calling her name once more. It sounded as if she was moving around downstairs in an attempt to find Hermione. She called down to Ginny, saying she would be there in a minute. She pulled on a pair of jeans before she ripped an oversized jumper out of her cupboard and pulled it on as she hurried out the room. She met Ginny on the stairs.

"Ginny!" She exclaimed as she hugged her friend, "I wasn't expecting to see you here so early!"

Ginny pulled back from their embrace and turned back down the stairs. She looked down at the little slashes of coffee on the stairs quizzically. She pulled out her wand and cast a scouring charm on the stains.

"What happened here? There's coffee all over the stairs."

"Oh, nothing; stubbed my toe on the way up this morning, some coffee spilt out of the mug I was holding."

When they reached the lounge, Ginny fell onto the couch with a sigh. Hermione took up a seat on a chair opposite her.

"Sorry I'm so early. Harry and I had an argument and I just had to get out of the flat."

"What happened, Gin?" she said, giving her friend a concerned look.

"He's not coming this morning because of that case with the French wizard. He's been doing nothing but work for the last two weeks. The fight was nothing too serious," she added at the sight of Hermione's concern," I just needed to be away. It's been so stressful at home between training, Harry's case and planning for the wedding. I thought I might come and help prepare for brunch."

Hermione moved next to Ginny on the couch and put her arm around her, giving her a small squeeze. She turned at the sound of a small creak coming from the stairs. There was no one there, so she returned her attention back to Ginny.

"I'm sure everything will be fine, Gin. You two have been through so much worse; this is just a drop in the ocean." She squeezed her friend's arm again, "Let's get started in the kitchen, shall we? I've planned to bake scones and I'll need to start soon. If the first batch comes out horrid, which I'm sure it will, I'll need time to try again or go to the shops."

They stood and turned to the kitchen. Hermione jumped slightly as he felt a small pinch on her behind. Ginny turned to her friend, having been knocked by Hermione, and gave her a quizzical look. Hermione just smiled at Ginny. She told her friend to go ahead and swotted at the space behind her blindly. Ginny shrugged and moved into the kitchen. Hermione looked down as she felt a pair of invisible arms warp around her waist. A tingling sensation passed over the skin of her neck as Draco's unseen lips pressed against her.

"Are you trying to get caught?"

"Don't be such a stick in the mud, Granger. Live a little." His voice came in a whisper by her ear.

"Neither of us will be doing much living if my friends find out about us," She whispered harshly, "and stop pinching my bum."

"You like it."

She felt his arms slide away from her and she turned to see the floo box lift itself off the mantle. Draco muttered a silencing charm and a few moments later soundless green flames leapt up before vanishing once more. As annoyed as she was, Hermione couldn't help but admire his skilful disillusionment charm.

* * *

Ron and Lavender had arrived in a jovial mood. Ron seemed particularly happy to see them. He drew Hermione into a bone crushing hug.

"Ron!" Ginny scolded him, "Hermione will need to drink a bottle of Skele-Gro if you hug her any tighter - poor woman's bones will be crushed to dust!"

Hermione rubbed her ribs as Ron went to hug Ginny with equal gusto. Ginny tried to push him away with little success. Lavender gave Hermione a sympathetic smile as she gave her a much gentler hug.

"I'm going to hurt more than more than when Dolohov hit me with that curse, Ron." Hermione teased.

"I never found out how that healed, Hermione. Did it leave any lasting damage?" Lavender asked as she put her things down on the coffee table.

"Oh, well, it took quite a few potions but the damage was healed. It left some discoloration near my ribs, but other than that I'm fine. Let's not talk of it though, this morning is meant to be fun and relaxing."

Lavender helped Hermione set the table before they all settled around it and began dishing up. The conversation was light and relaxed. Ron updated them all on the progress of some new products they were developing. George had to go through to St Mungo's after one of the testing session to remove some feathers that kept growing out of some very awkward places; Ron had found the situation very amusing – Angelina apparently had not. Much to Hermione's dismay, the conversation soon turned to the article published by Skeeter about her and Draco. Her present company all seemed to find it quite amusing.

"Maybe Malfoy was that secret boyfriend she had last year. Remember that, Lavender?" Ginny teased, giving Hermione a jovial nudge as she blushed a deep red.

"Oo 'ad a secret boyfriend?" Ron asked thickly through a mouthful of food. He swallowed before continuing, "Why didn't you tell me about it Lav?"

"Well, it wouldn't have been a secret for very long if you had known. You're always blurting stuff out to your family. You are so bad at keeping secrets; just like your mother."

"I kept tonnes of people's secrets!" he huffed indignantly, "And mum isn't that bad. She hasn't told anyone our news yet."

Lavender just sighed and rolled her eyes as Ron went a deep red and bowed his head. Ginny's head snapped towards Ron, eyeing him suspiciously. Ron hurriedly filled his mouth with food when Ginny asked him about the news. Lavender sighed before giving Ron a loving smile. He replied with his own timid smile. Ginny, however, was not letting her brother off the hook so easily.

"Ron, stuffing your face with food isn't going to get you out of telling us. We all know that you have no problem speaking through your food."

"Well, I suppose the kneazle is out the bag. We were hoping to tell everyone together, but _Won-Won_ has proven my earlier point about him keeping secrets." She used her old nickname for him in a teasing tone, "I'm pregnant."

Lavender beamed at them as Ginny and Hermione exploded with congratulations. Hermione hugged Ron tightly, thoroughly excited for her friend. She knew he had always wanted children – the more the merrier – and now he was getting his wish, with a woman he loved deeply. They all returned to their brunch, Ron beaming at Lavender the entire time. Ron and Lavender departed late that afternoon, with Ginny following soon after; leaving Hermione to settle in for the evening.

Hermione cleared away any stray dishes before settling herself down at the dining table to work. She summoned her things from the study and arranged them in a manner that suited her. She checked over the work schedule she had drawn up for the weekend in order to see how far behind she had fallen with the previous night's events. Hermione had been shocked at the fact that Draco had such bad relationship with his father; they always seemed so civil in public. She hoped things would have calmed down by the time he returned this morning. Her mind drifted back to the task at hand and she continued to work until her inkwell ran dry. Hermione stood and stretched, feeling slightly stiff. She walked to fetch herself a fresh pot of ink from the study. She reached to open the desk drawer which held her writing materials but was distracted by a small white square of paper on the desk. It must have been the photograph had decided to take. Hermione's curiosity piqued slightly, wondering what Draco would have tried to take a picture of.

Hermione picked the photo off the table, turning it around to see the image on the reverse side. She let out a quiet laugh when she saw Draco's face looking back at her. He'd obviously taken it thinking she would develop it later and find him giving her a cheeky smirk when she went through the photos. It was a silly prank, but it made her smile. Her eyes moved over the wizard in the image, considering each of his features in turn. He had certainly grown more handsome since Hogwarts. He had never been unattractive at school, but given his attitude towards her, Hermione would have rather kissed a skrewt than admit to his good looks. She slid the picture into her paperwork draw before getting more ink and returning to her work.

It was past midnight before Hermione finished her work for the night. She let out a yawn as she climbed the stairs to her room. She felt exhausted as she entered her room. There were still some coffee stains on the carpet, but she ignored them. She would clean in the morning. She peeled off her clothes and pulled on some pajamas before climbing into bed with a deep sigh; her pillow felt like heaven as she lay her head down. There was a faint trace of Draco's scent on her bedding. She inhaled deeply as she fell asleep.

* * *

Hermione arrived at work on Monday feeling incredibly stressed. She had received an owl saying that a large portion of the law she and Cormac were working on needed to be amended due to a new piece of legislation that had been passed in Ireland. As their proposed law was similar in its contents the Ministry wanted to bring it in line with its Irish equivalent. She was greeted by a tired and stressed looking Cormac as she dumped her belongings on her desk.

"You're late, _again._ "

"Good Morning to you, too, Cormac."

"We should have been working on those amendments already. "

He didn't look up from his work as he spoke in a crisp, annoyed tone. Hermione took a bracing breath. As much as she wanted to argue with Cormac on what actually constitutes being late, she knew he was just as stressed as she was and it wouldn't help the situation. Instead she thought it best to move their work to somewhere less stressful; the strain from working so hard was palpable across the entire office.

"I was up late starting the amendments, Cormac. I didn't mean to be late this morning. How about we go somewhere less stressful to work? Perhaps we can go down to the archives? Sneak in some coffee and biscuits."

Hermione gave him a small conciliatory smile as he looked up from his notes. He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"As I live and breathe I never thought I would see the day Hermione Granger would suggest eating in the library. You must be an imposter!"

"I can hex you to prove it's really me if you want. I have a mean stinging jinx in my arsenal. Ask Harry about it. Also, it's the archives, not the library."

Cormac threw up his hands in mock defeat. He agreed to take their work down to the archives, believing it would be in both their best interests. They quickly told their boss where they would be before heading down. Cormac's mood lightened as they entered the elevator; he even started one of his usual monologues about his family and their position within the Ministry. He continued right up until they had finished settling in. Hermione had smiled to herself when Cormac settled down in the same seat Draco had sat in the previous Monday. Hermione conjured some coffee and chocolate biscuits for them before she unpacked her paperwork. They settled into an efficient pace and managed to amend a good portion of the law; they still had a deal to go but it was a start. For all his faults, Hermione had to admit that Cormac was good at his job. When he wasn't talking about himself he was quite pleasant to work with. Hermione returned from searching for a book to find Cormac frowning.

"Problem, Cormac?"

"It's the language in section 44b; I just don't think it will work with the new amendments."

Hermione walked up behind him and placed her hands on the back if his chair as she looked over his shoulder. He read the offending section, pointing out exactly what he thought was problematic. Hermione moved to his side to get a better view. Hermione accidently brushed against him slightly when she pointed some of her own thoughts out on the page. Cormac didn't move but Hermione did notice him looking at her out the corner of his eye. She turned to him to ask his opinion but was stopped dead in her tracks by the look he was giving her. It was the same strange look he had given her when Harry had shown her the article from the _Prophet_. Hermione wasn't sure what to make of it and suddenly became very aware of how close Cormac was to her. She was just about the move back to her seat when a voice came from the end of their isle. Both Hermione and Cormac jumped at the sound. Hermione's eyes widened at the site of Draco; she felt like she had been caught doing something wrong.

"Well what do we have here? I hope I'm not… _interrupting_."

Draco's tone was contemptuous and he sneered at Hermione. She opened her mouth to reply but no response came; she was rather taken aback by how he was looking at her. Cormac stood and turned to Draco.

"You are interrupting our work, yes. What are you even doing down here Malfoy?" Cormac noticed that Draco's eyes were trained on Hermione and continued, "Stop staring at Hermione like that, you ferrety git. That little fantasy Rita Skeeter wrote won't come true for you; she has higher standards for a wizard than that."

Hermione looked from Draco to Cormac. He had spoken with an aggression she had never heard from him before. Draco had evidently heard it too, as he turned from Hermione to Cormac, a nasty smirk forming across his face.

"Well then you'd definitely not make the cut, _Corbin_ an-"

"My name is Cormac, Malfoy"

Draco waved off Cormac's correction. Hermione knew he had intentionally used the wrong name in order to undermine Cormac. He continued talking, looking Hermione up and down with a look that suggested he had something unpleasant under his nose.

"Yes, well you forget that I too have standards. I'll let you get back to whatever unfortunate fantasy you were trying to make real, Cormus."

He gave them both one last sneer before turning on his heel and disappearing. Hermione stared at his back, livid about what had just transpired in the archives. She couldn't believe how horrid he was to both of them. It was completely unnecessary. She muttered obscenities under her breath as she returned to her seat.

"What a git! You think he would have become less of a dickhead after everything that happened to his family during the war."

"Let's just get back to work."

Hermione turned back to her work, shuffling papers with an unnecessary amount of aggression. Cormac was a little unnerved by her slamming books down on the table as she rearranged her paperwork. He seemed to think it was wiser not to press the subject anymore and hurriedly busied himself with work. Hermione continued to mutter angrily under her breath.

* * *

It was past nine by the time Cormac and Hermione had finished what they had assigned for completion that day. Neither had spoken much since Draco had left the archives. Cormac had walked Hermione to the floo area, making polite conversation about trivial topics. She watched him disappear in green flames before climbing into the fireplace and giving the password to Draco's room. There was no way she was going to let him get away with his behaviour earlier. As she stepped out of the fireplace into an empty room the flames returned from green to their usual red and orange.

"MALFOY!" she shouted angrily.

Hermione could feel herself getting more annoyed when no reply came and she called for him again. Draco stepped out from the en suite, towelling his hair casually. He was completely naked, droplets of water still clinging to his skin from the shower. Hermione was taken by surprise by his state of undress and blushed slightly before returning her gaze to his smirking face.

"What exactly do you think you were playing at today, Malfoy!" Hermione's voice grew louder as she spoke, "How dare you speak to my colleague like that! It was utterly uncalled for! I should hex that smirk straight off your face!"

"Your little _boy toy_ was the one who insulted me first, Granger. He was probably just annoyed I interrupted whatever disgusting things you two had planned to do down there. Besides, I have appearances to keep up."

Draco had stopped towelling his hair and was looking Hermione dead in the eye. His voice was steady but Hermione could hear the edge of anger to it. His suggestions as to what she and Cormac were doing in the archives only made her angrier. She moved towards him, her fists clenched.

"Well if you were trying to appear to be a giant dickhead, then congratulations, you succeeded! And how dare you suggest that I'm sleeping with Cormac! What kind of floosy bint do you think I am?!"

She angrily poked out the last few words on his bare chest.

"Then what the fuck was going on when I got there? You two sure looked rather _chummy._ "

"NOTHING!" she bellowed, throwing her hands up in frustration, "I have absolutely no intention to ever get _chummy_ with Cormac! Even if there was something going on, what business is it of yours? I don't belong to you!"

"That doesn't mean that I have to like the idea of some other git getting his rocks off with you!"

Hermione wasn't sure what to do with his statement; she felt her anger replaced by shock. It had never occurred to her that Draco would have had any sort of feelings toward what she did outside of their interactions. Draco looked down at her, clenching his jaw. When she didn't say anything in return he turned back to the en suite and slammed the door behind him. Hermione stared at the door for few moments. She sighed at how ridiculous the whole situation was and went to sit on the bed. Draco came out a few moments later and carried on as if she wasn't there. She rolled her eyes and sighed once more.

"Listen, you did a shitty thing today."

Draco opened his cupboard and started to get dressed; he continued to ignore Hermione.

"Draco, please." Hermione appealed to him, rubbing her temple, "Let's just talk about this like adults."

Draco turned at the sound of his name and looked at her. Hermione continued, not having realised she used his first name.

"There was no need for you to insult Cormac or myself today. Whatever you thought was happening, perhaps you should have asked me about it first. I refuse to accept that kind of behaviour from you if this is to continue. Do I make myself clear?"

Draco huffed and inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement. Hermione hadn't expected an apology from him, but she still felt annoyed that all she received was a half-hearted nod of acknowledgement. She stood as if to leave but stopped when Draco spoke again.

"I'm going down to the kitchen to make some dinner. Care to join?"

Hermione knew it was his attempt at a peace offering; it was a poor one, but it was an attempt none the less. She suddenly became aware of how long ago it had been since she ate anything substantial. Draco walked to the door as he waited for her answer.

"As pleasant as that sounds, I doubt your parents would enjoy me as a dinner guest."

"It's a good thing they're in France on holiday, then. My mother thought it would be best for my father and I to have some space apart after our last fight." He said, gesturing out the door, "Mopsy went with so the food will probably be terrible."

Hermione gave a sigh before following him down to the kitchen.


	12. Chapter 12

Hermione sat with Cormac in the archives, barely concentrating on the page before her. It was the first week of December and she was feeling particularly stressed with their deadline looming. November had passed in a blur. She had spent the majority of her days working down in the archives with Cormac and her evenings with Draco. He too had seen an increased work load over the month. With his parents away the two of them were often to be found in the manor's vast library working on their respective projects. Hermione enjoyed the time they spent working together; Draco was proving himself to be an excellent aid when it came to research. They would often become distracted from work and have debates regarding related topics. These usually ended with Draco's lips silencing Hermione's. He was particularly aggressive in trying to distract her when he knew he was losing. Hermione was still waiting for a night where they would finish a debate fully clothed – not that she really minded losing in such a manner; she enjoyed being challenged both mentally and physically. It was a rare occasion where she met someone who managed both.

It was past midnight and Cormac had slouched out of the archives after a muttered goodbye. They had spent the evening going over everything in minute detail in order to make sure all was perfect for their submission tomorrow. He was as exhausted and stressed as Hermione and they had been rather snippy with each other over the last few days; she hadn't felt this overworked since her third year at Hogwarts. Hermione was glad that they would be submitting everything tomorrow; she had a night out with the girls planned on the Friday in order to celebrate. Hermione waved her wand over her things and sent them haphazardly into her bag. She let out a sigh and gave at her bag a defeated look; the idea of having to slouch it all the way home was dreadful and she felt like she didn't have enough magic in her to levitate it up to the floo network. Her head felt heavy in that moment, so she folded her arms on the table and gently rest her it on them. Hermione let out a sigh and closed her eyes but before she could fall asleep, she forced herself up and trudged to the floo network. It felt like a lifetime had passed before she climbed into the nearest fireplace and half-heartedly gave her destination.

Hermione stepped out of the fireplace into Draco's dimly lit room. She hadn't even realised that she had given this as her destination; during the last month coming to the manor after work had become second nature. Draco blinked up at her through sleep from the bed. Hermione felt a pang in her chest at the site of him. She couldn't help smile at how winsome he looked with his hair in disarray and the bemused look on his face; he had obviously not expected to see her that evening.

"Granger?" he asked groggily

Hermione felt bad for disturbing his sleep. She apologised for waking him as she put down her things and undressed. Draco lifted the covers for her as she slipped into bed next to him. Hermione nuzzled her face against the warm skin of his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. She felt the pressure of a small kiss on the top of her head as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Hermione woke with a start the next morning, her heart pounding in her chest as she was gripped by the irrational fear that she was late for work. It was still dark outside and fumbled for her watch on the bedside table to check the time. The watch face told her that there were still a good ten minutes before she needed to rise. Draco pulled himself up to a seated position next to her, muttering to himself as he did so.

"What's going on?" he asked thickly

"I'm sorry; I thought I might be late for work. I'm just stressed about submitting that law today."

She fell back onto the bed rubbing sleep from her eyes. She let out a sigh before swinging her legs out from under the covers and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I need to get going or I won't be ready in time for work. Get some sleep and I'll see you at work."

She made to get off the bed when Draco pulled her back down by her arm. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight as she tried to wriggle free. She continued to protest about being late for work as he climbed on top of her and pinned her to the bed.

"Get ready here. You can lend one of my shirts; just shrink it to fit." He started to kiss down her neck between every word, "Besides, we should celebrate that submission."

Hermione stopped her struggling as Draco began to move his kisses down her body. She moaned loudly as his came to rest between her legs. She tried to wriggle free, renewing her protests about being late – albeit half-heartedly. Draco answered her by putting her legs over his shoulders and increasing the intensity of his ministrations. Hermione wove her fingers into his hair as she moaned his name. She felt as though she was dissolving into the bed.

"Maybe… I can stay… just… little… longer…"

Her pleasure was brought to an abrupt end when a polite cough interrupted them. Hermione scrambled to cover herself as Draco pushed himself up off the bed. She felt herself turn a deep shade of red as she saw Narcissa Malfoy standing in the doorway. Draco hadn't been closing the door during the duration of his parent's holiday abroad. Narcissa didn't bat an eyelid at the scene; she simply smiled at Hermione before turning to her son.

"I apologise for interrupting; I wasn't aware Draco had company. Could I have a word please?"

Hermione wished the bed would swallow her whole she was so embarrassed. She covered her face with the covers as she heard Draco leave the room with his mother. When she heard the door close, Hermione jumped out of bed and hurried to her clothes. She fumbled through the pile looking for her underwear but gave up searching for them when she found her blouse and started to pull it on. She looked up when the door opened again and Draco entered, closing it behind him. He gave her an amused look. Barely dressed, hair awry and flushed with embarrassment, Hermione knew she must have made quite a sight.

"Where are you going?"

"Home?" she replied, uncertainly.

Draco inclined his head to the side, the look of amusement on his face deepening. Hermione suddenly became very aware of herself; she blushed a deep red once more.

"There's no need for that. Mother was just letting me know she was home early. Father will only be home later in the afternoon; apparently he has business to attend to."

Hermione stood and looked at him blankly. She was confused by how relaxed he seemed; it was as if his mother hadn't just walked in on them in a compromising position. Draco crossed over to her and slipped the blouse off her shoulders. He began kissing her down her neck following along her collar bone. She pushed him back a little and looked him in the eye, her mind flooded with questions.

"What about your mother?"

"What about her?"

"Surely she has a problem with what she just saw?"

"She didn't say a word about it. Don't worry," he added, seeing Hermione's expression of mingled shock and concern, "she won't say anything to my father."

"But sur-"

Hermione was cut off by Draco picking her up and moving her towards the bed. She gave him a push as she tried to wriggle free; she wanted answers. He dropped her onto the bed and she let out a small giggle as she landed. Hermione hated how silly the noise must have sounded. Draco looked down at her and gave her a smirk before climbing onto the bed. Hermione composed herself and gave him a pointed look which he ignored.

"You seem to find these things quite amusing, Granger. Now… where were we?"

"How can you be so sure that your mother won't tell your father?" she asked as she stopped him from kissing her, "Would you stop that please and give me an answer!"

Draco looked down at her and huffed like a child being denied a plaything. Hermione gave him another pointed look and received a small angry pout from Draco. Hermione couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous he looked – his facial expression was much the same as Harry's had been when Ginny put him on one of those 'no sugar' diets for the wedding. Draco pulled away from Hermione muttering under his breath but she brought her arms around him and pulled him back down. He furrowed his brow at her. When he realised Hermione wasn't going to let go he gave her a haughty sigh. Hermione smiled at him; over the last month she had gotten much better at getting him to do what she wanted. Draco had obviously gleaned some of what she was thinking from her facial expression.

"Stop smiling at me like you've won something." He huffed, "Mother saw you on the balcony with me in October and lied to my father about it, so you don't have anything to worry about. I doubt she knows the exact extent of what's going on between us, but if she had a real problem with it she would have said something."

Hermione struggled to hide her shock. This was not the answer she had been expecting; perhaps she had been too quick to judge Narcissa Malfoy. She frowned as she continued to mull over what she had just been told.

"Why didn't you tell me about her knowing earlier?"

"Would it have made a difference?"

Her answer was cut off by Draco pressing his lips to hers. He was clearly tired of the conversation and Hermione knew it would be pointless to try and continue with it.

* * *

Hermione arrived at the Ministry still thinking over what Draco had told her. She walked absent-mindedly through to the elevators. One thing in particular was bothering her; Draco's words "the exact extent of what's going on between us" kept repeating over again in her mind. Hermione, herself, wasn't sure of what was going on between her and Draco anymore. She had spent more time with Draco in recent days than with her friends. It wasn't that she hadn't tried to spend time with Harry, Ron and the rest; they were all just as busy as Hermione and it had been a struggle to find a time they could get together. It had just been so much simpler to go to Draco when she wanted company. Yet last night had been different – she had slept in Draco's arms for no reason other than wanting to. Hermione shook herself to her senses. She was looking too deeply into it. She had been tired and stressed, it had affected her decision making process.

Hermione walked into a festive looking office; someone had clearly taken it upon themselves to decorate for the holidays. She cringed slightly at some rather gaudy baubles that were decorating a tree in the corner. Cormac turned and gave her a chipper greeting; being deadline free had certainly lightened his mood. Hermione moved to her seat and he popped his head over their desk divide. He clearly wanted to talk; Hermione wasn't sure if she had the energy to listen.

"Is that a new shirt?"

Hermione looked down at the shirt she had borrowed from Draco. It was plain and dark grey; it wasn't exactly the style Hermione usually wore, but out of all the ones she had shrunk and tried on, it suited her best.

"Oh," she answered in a nonchalant manner, "yes it is."

"Looks pretty pricey."

Hermione wasn't sure what to say to such a statement. She sighed at how quickly Cormac had reverted back to being his usual annoying self. She decided to simply smile and change the subject to something Cormac related. As Hermione had suspected he leapt at the opportunity to discuss himself. He spoke of his plans for the weekend now that his work load was reduced. It turned out that much like Hermione he had planned a night out on Friday to celebrate being done with all his major projects for the year. She wanted to ascertain where he would be going so she could avoid having to run into him on the night but he had started discussing one of his family members' work at the Ministry and wouldn't let Hermione get a word in edgeways. Hermione slipped into her usual half-aware state, smiling and nodding every now and then. She breathed a sigh of relief when a blue memo crashed into her desk.

"It's probably another request for help with research." She said, as she started to unfold the memo.

Cormac gave her a knowing smile, which came off more obnoxious than sympathetic, before disappearing behind the desk divide. Hermione nearly gave a sarcastic smile at the place where Cormac's head had been, stopping herself before she did. Draco was rubbing off on her; maybe she had been spending too much time with him. She turned her attention to the memo.

 _Can't see you tonight._

 _Dinner Friday?_

 _DM_

Hermione stared down at the note; her mind seemed to have stopped working. Draco wanted to have dinner? Food had always been a second thought during their previous meetings. Hermione wasn't even sure why she was focusing on food; it was the least of her worries. Was he asking her on a date? Surely not; he would obviously just come over to her place and they would get food as an afterthought like they usually did.

 _Yes, that's it. You're thinking about it too much... but then why does it seem like he's offering dinner as a compensation for not seeing you tonight?_

Hermione closed her eyes and took a breath before she pulled out a quill and memo pad. Her quill hovered above the paper before she penned her reply.

 _Woe is me! How will I ever survive till the morning without my knight in shining armour?_

 _Can't do Friday, I have plans with the girls._

 _Maybe I'll see you over the weekend._

 _HG_

Hermione read the note over till she was satisfied that it didn't hold any clue as to her actual state of confusion. She waved her wand over the paper and sent it off to Draco before starting what little work she had for the day. It was a seemingly futile endeavour as within the first ten minutes her mind had drifted back to events earlier in the morning. Once Hermione had gotten over the shock of being told Narcissa knew about her and Draco, she had been able to examine the situation through a calmer, more logical lens. Hermione knew how far Narcissa was willing to go protect her son. Harry had told her of how she had lied to Voldemort in order to protect him. This, Hermione had to admit, was no small feat and would have required a great deal of bravery and love. If she thought her husband knowing about Hermione would lead to a confrontation with Draco, it would seem plausible for her to lie to him about it. Hermione knew it was hardly an indication that she approved of the situation, but at least she didn't have to worry about Narcissa hexing her. It was still difficult for Hermione to reconcile the current Narcissa with the one she knew before and during the war. Yet so many people had changed because of the war. Draco, himself, was a prime example.

Hermione sighed and rubbed her temples. The situation was becoming far more complicated than Hermione cared to deal with. A little voice niggled in the back of her mind that even if it would never have been an anything but complicated. Cormac popped his head over the desk divide to offer Hermione a biscuit from his mother's first batch of baked holiday goods. She happily to took one; at least this was one thing that Hermione could agree on with McLaggen – his mother was an excellent baker – she came a close second to Mrs Weasley. She was contentedly nibbling on the biscuit when another blue memo landed on her desk. Hermione opened it excitedly; perhaps it was Draco's response to her reply. Hopefully it would shed more light on his initial memo. Her excitement dissipated as she saw it was another research request from someone in International Law. She cast the note aside; she would reply later.

* * *

Lunch arrived and Hermione had still not received a reply from Draco. This had annoyed her more than it should have, so Hermione had accepted a lunch invitation from Cormac. He and a few others from their department had decided to get some takeaway from a new place that had opened in Diagon Alley. It had been quite a pleasant excursion; everyone was looking forward to the Christmas break with several people Hermione spoke with taking holidays abroad. It made Hermione feel excited for her own Christmas plans. It had been some time since she had seen her parents.

They returned to the Ministry, lunch in hand and all in a jovial mood. Cormac and the others went up to their office while Hermione stopped to chat with one of the ladies from the Administration Department. They were discussing Christmas plans when Hermione's eye was caught by Draco exiting the elevator. He gave Hermione a sideways glance before turning back to the person who had departed the elevator behind him. Hermione's jaw clenched slightly as Pansy Parkinson came into view. She continued her conversation, casually moving in order to watch their progress across the entry hall to the floo network. As they walked passed Hermione heard Pansy discussing what seemed to be plans that she and Draco had for the coming Friday. Hermione couldn't help but let her eyes follow the two as they moved to a fireplace nearby.

"What's Pansy Parkinson doing at the Ministry?"

"She came in to Admin just before lunch for a guest before going up to International Cooperation, so I suppose she spent lunch with Malfoy. Perfect couple those two," her colleague added, her tone somewhat bitter, "they were always so horrid to us Hufflepuffs. Anyway, I should be getting back; paperwork won't do itself!"

Hermione gave her colleague a smile as she departed. She lingered in the hallway under the pretense of waiting for a co-worker to get back from Diagon Alley; watching as Pansy bid Draco farewell. Hermione felt that Pansy was being a bit too touchy feely with her farewell. As Pansy disappeared in a flash of green Hermione turned to the elevators. She took her time getting into the nearest one, allowing Draco to climb into it before it departed. They both stood facing the door, not looking at each other.

"So, I hear Pansy Parkinson came to lunch."

"She did. Father arranged it; despite my protests."

"Mhmm and did he arrange for you to go out with her on Friday, too?"

Hermione continued to look at the door. She could see that Draco had turned his head slightly to look at her, an eyebrow raised.

"No, he did not. That was all her idea."

"Mhmm."

Draco didn't offer more information. They both rode the elevator in silence before Hermione departed. She turned and gave Draco one last look before the doors closed. She stared at the spot where his face had been, irritation flaring within her, before turning into the offices. She knew that she had no real reason to be annoyed by the fact that Draco had spent lunch with Pansy; they weren't a couple, he could spend time with whoever he pleased – even if she was his ex-girlfriend.

 _Draco's ex-girlfriend who was clearly still interested in him. Draco's ex-girlfriend who his father was trying to arrange that she become his daughter- in- law._

Hermione paused in the hallway and took a calming breath before continuing to her office. This was not something she should be thinking about. To try and distract herself she started mentally planning a cleaning schedule for her home in preparation for her parents' arrival. She entered her offices to find her colleagues sitting in the corner. Someone had conjured a small table and chairs for everyone. Hermione joined the table, taking a seat across from Cormac. The food had been set out in a communal fashion and Hermione dished up a small plate for herself.

"Something wrong, Hermione?" Cormac asked, giving her a small look of concern.

"Nothing's wrong." She replied as she stabbed her fork aggressively at her food.

Friday night couldn't come quickly enough for Hermione. A night out was exactly what she needed to get her mind off things. She made a mental note to message Ginny about it as soon as lunch was over.

 _Yes_ , she thought to herself, _Friday would be a great distraction._


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: If feel like there's going to be a great deal of eye rolling at a certain point of this chapter but please bear with me. The incarnation Hermione in this story isn't going to willy nilly admit her feelings towards Draco – even to herself.**

Friday's evening had gone from a girl's night out to a night out with everyone and their uncle. Hermione wasn't complaining; it would be nice to see everyone again. The only person missing would be Lavender; havin decided to forgo the evening on account of her pregnancy. The plan had been to meet at Hermione before walking to a nearby apparition point in order to apparate to Hogsmead; it would be easier than flooing in one by one. This arrangement meant that it would be necessary for them to dress in muggle attire. Hermione wore a simple long sleeve black dress with tights and a pair of flats.

Hermione was upstairs when the first of their party arrived. She had been considering the photograph of herself in Draco's quidditch top when the bell from the floo sounded. She hadn't spoken to Draco since their time in the elevator. She had spent the rest of the day trying to grapple with why she had reacted the way she did, it had been rather uncharacteristic of her to succumb to jealousy like that. She was yet to come to an answer that she found to her satisfaction. The event had just added to the raging internal debate about her feelings towards Draco; she sighed at the thought of how complicated those feelings were becoming – whatever they may have been. She placed the photograph back in the draw next to the picture Draco had taken of himself; she had moved it from the study as she felt it had less chance of being discovered by her friends if it was in her room. Hermione turned from the room and tied her hair in a loose ponytail as she made her way downstairs.

When Hermione reached the lounge she was greeted by a smiling Luna – resplendent in a bright assortment of muggle clothing. She was wearing a blue t-shirt, a cartoon rabbit on its front, paired with an orange tulle circle skirt. Hermione assumed the colour of the mid-length skirt was meant to bring out the orange of the carrot held by the rabbit. Her dirigible plum earrings dangled from her ears and a large, green tropical flower was pinned to the side of her head. She held a red polka dot cardigan in her hand. Hermione smiled back at Luna – both in greeting and amusement.

"You look lovely, Luna – wonderfully colourful."

"Thanks Hermione! I went shopping with Rolf in the muggle town near us especially for tonight." She twirled around, making the skirt flare out slightly.

"Where is Rolf tonight? Ron said he wouldn't be joining us tonight when I spoke to him about it."

"Oh, he's at a conference in Romania with Charlie. I'm taking a port key there just before Christmas; we're hoping to find a Romanian sub-species of nargles."

"That sounds lovely, Luna!" Hermione exclaimed as she wonder if there was even a British species of nargles, "Would you like a glass of wine while we wait for the others?"

Luna nodded as she sat on the couch and Hermione disappeared into the kitchen to fetch a bottle of wine and glasses. She returned to see Ginny stepping out of the fireplace. Her friend smiled as she hugged Luna and Hermione hello.

"Fair warning, Harry and Ron have started the evening a bit early," she turned to see her brother arrive, grinning as he stepped into the lounge, "they've had a few firewhiskeys."

Ron gave Luna's skirt a confused look before he greeted everyone. Harry soon followed, greeting everyone in a loud jovial manner. Hermione poured the girls and herself some wine while Harry and Ron pretended to play quidditch.

"Who are we waiting for, Hermione?" Luna asked smiling at Harry as he feigned being hit by a bludger.

"George. He said he might be a little late, though."

"Speak of the devil." Ginny said, looking into the fireplace.

George's head had appeared in the green flames. He greeted everyone before letting them know he would meet them in Hogsmead; things at the shop were taking longer than he expected and he didn't want to hold them up. Ron booed into the fireplace at his brother's words. George gave his brother an over exaggerated Molly-esque scowl before reminding him that things might have been going faster if Ron had been there to help. Ron just shrugged before returning to throw his imaginary quaffle at Harry who fell over the coffee table trying to catch it. Ginny scowled at him as he apologised and neatened up the books he had knocked off. George bid them farewell and they all gathered their belongings, ready to depart for the evening.

They all pulled their coats tighter and huddled together as they walked against the wind. Hermione was glad the apparition point had only been a few blocks away as they turned into the designated alley, shielded slightly against the wind. Harry gave everyone a grin and thumbs up before disappearing with a crack. Ron disappeared soon after with a curtsey. Ginny shook her head.

"If they splinch themselves it would serve them right."

"Splinching isn't very pleasant." Luna said in a matter of fact manner, before she too disappeared.

Hermione gave Ginny a small chuckle before they disappeared from the alley.

* * *

They appeared in the village centre with an echoing crack. The weather in Hogsmeade was much milder than in London; the wind was still and a light snow was falling. Hermione smiled at the Christmas decorations and twinkling lights as she searched around for Harry and Ron, who were nowhere to be seen. Ginny, too, was searching for her brother and fiancé. Hermione was about to ask Luna if she had seen them when she saw Ginny duck as a snowball came flying at her. Hermione turned in the direction from which the projectile had come to see Harry and Ron running at them, several snowballs in hand.

"Gonna have to try better than that, Ron! I dodge bludgers for a living!" Ginny yelled as she scooped up a ball of snow and hurled it back at him, hitting him square in the chest.

Luna was giggling as she jumped away from one of Harry's snowballs. Hermione let out a squeal as she threw her arms up just in time to stop one of Ron's snowballs from hitting her in the face.

"I'll get you for that Ronald Weasley!" she yelled at her attacker.

Ginny was running at Harry with an extra-large ball in her hand. He attempted to flee but stumbled and dropped most of his arsenal; he still managed to avoid Ginny's throw and ran back towards the squeals and giggles made by Hermione and Luna. Ginny was in hot pursuit.

"If I can catch a snitch I can catch you, Harry!"

"You forget that I also played as a seeker, Ginny!" Harry yelled back at her, "Youngest in a hundred yea-"

He was cut off by the impact of a snowball thrown at him by Luna. Hermione was still struggling to form snowballs as Ron kept pelting her with his own. Eventually she gave up and pulled out her wand; she used it to form several snowballs and sent them hurtling towards him. Most hit their mark and Ron scowled at her through the snow on his face.

"Using magic isn't fair!"

"It wouldn't be fair against a muggle maybe!" Hermione yelled back at Ron, "You're a grown wizard, Ron! I'm sure you can defend yourself from a few snowballs!"

Hermione felt the cold impact of a snowball on the back of her head. She turned to see Ginny laughing at her. She gave Ginny a betrayed look as Harry came behind her friend and scooped her up, spinning her around. Ginny protested fiercely as she tried to wriggle free of his grasp. Harry suggested they call a truce, with no victor to the battle. Reluctantly Ginny agreed and he set her down. The truce was short lived, however, as Ron threw his last snowball hitting Harry in the stomach. Harry swore at Ron, laughing all the while.

They continued to laugh amongst themselves as they walked to the Three Broomsticks, using their wands to remove any snow that lingered on their clothing. The pub was relatively busy – its patrons all in a festive mood – so Hermione, Luna and Ginny went to find a table while Harry and Ron went to get them drinks. They waved at a small table where Dean Thomas and Neville sat with Katie Bell. The group returned the greeting enthusiastically as the girls took up seats at a table near them. Harry and Ron retuned a short while later, a tray of firewhiskeys in hand. They toasted Neville and company loudly as they took their seats. Once they were all comfortable Harry insisted that everyone at the table lifted their glasses in a toast.

"Here's to us"! He took a sip of firewhiskey before continuing, "Here's to Hermione finishing that law none of us understands and to Ron for giving us another Weasley!"

Ron cheered loudly at Harry's words and took a swig of his drink. Ginny shushed him so Harry could continue.

"Luna, who is going to find that nargle in Romania with Rolf, I'm certain of it!" He smiled at Luna as he lifted his glass higher, "To Ginny, for actually agreeing to marry me!"

Hermione and Ginny both cheered loudly at this.

"And finally, here's to me for finally having a night off!"

Harry cheered loudly to himself as he downed his drink. Hermione smiled at her friend; she knew he wouldn't be so cheerful in the morning. Hermione laughed as she watched Harry practically skip to the bar again. She was distracted from Harry by Pansy entering the pub closely followed by Draco and Blaise who, by the look of him, had been well into a bottle of firewhiskey before he arrived. Hermione tried to get Blaises's attention but failed as he stumbled along with Draco to a small table in a corner near the door; Pansy had gone to fetch their drinks. Hermione was concerned at her friend's state; she had never known Blaise to be so drunk before. Hermione was distracted from Blaise by Draco for a moment; he certainly looked handsome tonight. His eyes flicked to her quickly before he turned back to Blaise and muttered something into his ear. Blaise just looked at Draco sulkily before turning and staring at a space on the wall.

Hermione's attention was brought back to the table by Harry's return; he deposited another tray of drinks on the table. He then triumphantly slammed a deck of exploding snap down on the table and declared that he and Ron would be playing for the title "King of Christmas". Hermione wasn't sure the combination of their mood and small explosions would be the safest thing to be in a close vicinity to. She decided it would be safer to move up slightly as they started their game. Hermione sat and listened as Luna started discussing her Christmas plans over Harry's protests of foul play from Ron.

"Hermione!"

Hermione closed her eyes and braced herself as she turned to see Cormac smiling at her from a group of his friends as they entered. She waved back cursing whoever had decided to come to here instead of just going to the Leaky Cauldron. She waved back at Cormac before turning back to the table. She didn't intend on being rude to him, but she wasn't going to give him any reason to try and join their table. Cormac paused briefly at their table, greeting everyone, before joining his friends at the table they had all squeezed around. Hermione gave a sigh of relief and caught Ginny's eye. Ginny laughed at the expression on Hermione's face; she had often been on the receiving end of Hermione's rants about Cormac. Before Hermione could say anything to her friend she was distracted by a bang from next to her; Harry and Ron's game had apparently started heating up. A loud round of amused cheers had erupted at the sound with several patrons raising their glasses to Harry and Ron.

"Careful there little brother; we wouldn't want you to lose your eyebrows to this game again."

"It was one eyebrow one time, George!"

George greeted the rest of the table as he took the empty seat next to Hermione, drink in hand. Ron returned his attention to the game at hand; Hermione could just hear him muttering about feathers growing out of strange places being worse than a singed eyebrow. George had evidently chosen to ignore his comments and turned to Luna to join her discussion of the impending trip to Romania.

Hermione turned to look at Draco's table, trying to make it look like she was simply giving the pub and its patrons a casual once over. Pansy was talking to Blaise and by the look of it whatever Blaise was saying to her had her rather annoyed; Draco, on the contrary, seemed to find their conversation rather amusing. He lifted his firewhiskey to his take a sip but paused when he saw Hermione covertly observing him. He gave her a barely perceptible cheers before taking a sip from the glass. Hermione raised her own glass in a similar movement before smiling as she took a sip of firewhiskey. The brief, secretive interaction sent a small thrill of excitement through her. As she turned back to the table she saw Ginny's eyes dart away from her and back to George.

The crowd in the pub had grown more rowdy as the night wore on. A small crowd of friends and colleagues had joined Hermione's table in order to watch Ron's rematch against Harry; he had lost their last game of exploding snap and had demanded they play again. Ron was determined to gain possession of the poorly constructed tinsel crown that Harry had conjured on winning their first game. A matching crown perched precariously on Ginny's head, threatening to fall off with every movement. It seemed dangerously close to doing so as she laughed heartily at something Neville had told her. Hermione had found that after a few firewhiskeys the threat of singed eyebrows was not so horrible and was quite enjoying watching her friends battle it out over their playing cards. She stood to get another drink slightly annoyed to see that Cormac, who had joined their table at the start of the game, intended to follow her.

"Shall we get a refill?" he asked cheerfully.

Hermione nodded and forced a smile as she followed him to the bar. She felt herself tense as Cormac put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her cheerfully. She peeled his hand from her arm and asked him to get her a firewhiskey while she went to the bathroom to freshen up; she was starting to feel like she was back at Slughorn's Christmas party. The more Cormac had drunk, the more he had started to behave as he had done that evening all those years ago. Hermione escaped as quickly as she could into the bathroom as Cormac made his way over to the bar. She stole a glance at Draco's table as she turned down the passage to the bathrooms. Pansy was nowhere to be seen and Draco was struggling to heave a sleeping Blaise off his shoulder. Hermione entered the bathroom only to find Pansy in front of a mirror touching up her makeup. She gave Hermione a brief glance of disdain before returning to her reflection. Hermione went to a mirror on the far side of the room.

Hermione was surprised at how flushed her face was. She patted her face with some cold water before drying it off with her wand. She had just started to freshen up her ponytail when Pansy turned to her and spoke.

"Nothing's going to help you fix that mess, Granger."

Hermione just sighed at the comment and took out her lipstick to touch up the colour on her lips. She was never one for over the top makeup, but she did enjoy a splash of colour on her lips. Seemingly spurred on by her attempts to ignore her, Pansy continued to goad Hermione.

"If you think you can snag yourself a _real_ wizard by slapping on some cheap lipstick, you should think again. I doubt any of them would go for you, even with that whorish shade of red smudged on your face. Maybe you should just stick to Potty and the Weasel."

Hermione just gave another tired sigh. Pansy's implication of what a "real" wizard was had annoyed Hermione but she was in no mood to deal with such juvenile, school yard taunts. She dropped her lipstick back into her small handbag and turned to her old school rival.

"Well as wonderful as this had been, I shall be going."

She walked towards the door and paused before she opened it. She wrapped her hand around the doorknob, a smirk crossing her face.

"Oh, and Pansy," Hermione turned her head back to the witch as she opened the door, "you'll find I know more about _real_ wizards than you might think."

Without waiting for her reply Hermione left the bathroom. She knew she shouldn't have said what she had, but she just couldn't resist. As she came to the end of the passage she bumped into Cormac who had been waiting for her, drinks in hand. The impact caused her to loose hold of her handbag and items tumbled from it onto the floor. Cormac placed their drinks on a table close to them and kneeled to help Hermione pick up her scattered belongings, including several books. She cursed her decision to put extension charms on all her bags as she felt her face redden slightly with embarrassment. She dumped her belongings back into the handbag before standing as she took a book handed to her. Cormac stood as well, taking a step closer to Hermione as looked up to thank him. Before she could get the words out Cormac pulled her into a kiss. Her eyes widened as she stiffened, his wet lips pressing harder into hers.

Cormac pulled back from Hermione as her eyes darted around the room. The party at her table had stopped to watch the scene that was unfolding. Hermione caught a look of shock and disgust on Ron's face as he nudged Harry and pointed at them; a look of horror dawned on Harry's face as he realised what Ron was pointing out. The smell of smoke brought her attention back to Cormac; she looked down to see his coat smouldering.

"Cormac," she said slightly panicked, "you're on fire!"

Cormac just smiled smugly back at Hermione. He had completely missed the panic in her voice.

"Well, not to brag, but-"

Hermione's widened as the smoulder erupted into a small fire on the bottom of his cloak.

"No!" she said as she pointed down to the spot, "You're actually on fire!"

Cormac's eyes followed to where she was pointing, widening when he saw the flames. He stumbled back and tripped into a patron near him. The impact caused the wizard to spill his drink down the front of his own robes. Hermione fumbled in her bag for her wand as Cormac stumbled into another group, yelling all the while. Most of the pub had turned to watch, curious as to what was happening. Before Hermione could reach her wand one of Cormac's friends had bounded over and set an excessively large stream of water flowing over Cormac. He stopped flailing around and stood, dripping wet from head to toe, scowling at his friend. Loud laughter came from near the door and Hermione turned to see Draco finding the scene highly amusing; Blaise was still asleep, head on the table, next to him. Cormac, too, had noticed it was Draco laughing at him.

"You think this," Cormac asked, furiously gesturing to his sodden clothing, "is funny, do you, Malfoy?"

Cormac moved aggressively towards Draco's table. Hermione tried to grab his arm and stop him, but he just shrugged her off. The wizard who had spilt his drink was shouting after Cormac about replacing his firewhisky. Hermione turned to Harry and Ron, giving them pleading looks. They shrugged at her but moved out from their table when she scowled at them angrily. Cormac had already reached the table when they got to him; he repeated his initial question and Draco continued to laugh. Harry tried to pull him away, but Cormac shrugged him off and slammed his fist into the table. Blaise woke with a start and gave the wizards around him a confused look. Hermione moved closer to the group to try calm the situation. Ron put his hand on Cormac's shoulder.

"Leave it, mate, he's not worth it. Let's get you dried off."

"Listen to Weasel," Draco said, still smirking, "Cormic."

Hearing Draco mispronounce his name pushed Cormac over the edge. He took a drunken swing at Draco, who leant back effortlessly in his chair to avoid it before pushing the table forward into Cormac, Harry and Ron. The three wizards were sent stumbling back into others by the impact. Hermione was sent flying back into Pansy Parkinson by Ron. The witch shoved Hermione back and swore at her. The pub around them erupted into shouts as drunken wizards started to throw punches and spells at each other; apparently there were those among the patrons that took none too kindly to by Harry and Cormac pushing them over as they stumbled away from the table.

Hermione could hear Ginny yelling at Harry and Ron as Pansy pushed her hard into the wall; she had to duck as Pansy took a swing at her. Somehow Hermione had managed to hold on to the book Cormac had handed her earlier and without thinking she swung it as hard as she could at Pansy. There was a loud thud as the book made contact with the side of Pansy's head; causing her to stumble and clutch the side of her face. Hermione pushed her away from her and turned towards Ginny's voice. She leapt over Ron as he rolled around on the pub floor with a wizard Hermione didn't know. Hermione found her friend near the bar; Ginny had Harry in a headlock as he struggled against her to re-join the fight.

"Lemmego Ginny! I need to help Ron!"

"You and Ron have had enough fun for tonight!" she turned to Hermione, yelling over the brawl, "Get Luna, we're leaving!"

Hermione dropped her book into her bag and pulled out her wand in order to deflect any stray jinxes. One of the pub staff stumbled into her as he tried to break apart two witches who were pulling at each other's hair and shrieking insults at about their respective husbands. She caught site of Draco laughing while he dodged another one of Cormac's punches; Hermione looked to see if Blaise was nearby but he was nowhere to be seen. A wizard ran by her and out the door, chased by his own bogey bats; judging by the quality of the jinx it had been cast by Ginny.

Hermione stumbled through the chaos for a short time before she found Luna being held in a headlock by Pansy Parkinson. She lifted her wand and was about to jinx Pansy when the witch started shrieking and grabbing at her ears. Hermione laughed rather harshly as the Pansy ran towards the bathrooms, leeks sprouting between her fingers as they covered her ears. Luna straightened and watched Pansy run down the passage. Hermione turned to see where the jinx had come from and saw Draco with his wand pointed in their direction. He gave her a naughty grin before turning back into the crowd.

"I don't think those leeks will taste very good." Luna commented, smiling.

"Probably not," Hermione said smiling at Draco's back, "let's get going, Ginny wants to leave."

"I wouldn't blame her."

Hermione and Luna made their way to the door, where staff were unceremoniously ejecting patrons. Hermione smiled gingerly as the two of them shuffled out of the pub. Luna floated off in the direction of Neville who sat against a wall, head back and pinching his nose. George was standing a few feet away making retching sounds as he threw up slugs. Hermione shook her head and sighed – this was not how she had intended her night to go. She turned back to see Draco being pushed out the door. He stumbled slightly before righting himself and straightening out his clothing. Hermione caught his attention with a small cough. She mouthed the words "Shrieking Shack" at him before disapparating. Draco walked around the building before he too disappeared with a crack.

* * *

Hermione sat on a large stone just outside the Shrieking Shack as she waited for Draco. She had cast a warming charm on herself, as she hadn't managed to retrieve her coat before exiting the pub. With a crack, Draco appeared in front of the shack. He spotted Hermione and took a seat next to her on the rock. Hermione kept her eyes trained on the shack as he sat. She was still annoyed at how her night had turned out. Eventually she turned to face him and saw a small trickle of blood on his lip where it had been split by someone's fist. She reached up and wiped the blood from his face.

"Courtesy of your boy toy."

"Well given that it was probably you who set his cloak on fire, I think it's justified."

When Draco didn't reply, Hermione continued to speak.

"I thought that I made my opinion on that kind of behaviour clear after the last time you and Cormac interacted."

"He kissed you."

"That is no justification for setting my colleague on fire!" She huffed at him, feeling herself get even more annoyed. She stood to leave, but Draco took her hand and held her back.

"What's going on between us, Granger?"

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks at the sound of the words and turned back to Draco, trying – but she suspected failing – to hide the shock they had caused. Even though she had asked herself the very same thing, she had never imagined that Draco would be the one to lay it out in the open. She sat back down on the rock, her mind struggling to find an answer; all her previous thoughts on the matter racing past in a blur. She eventually turned to Draco and gave him the only answer she felt would be truthful.

"Right now I'm not sure, Malfoy."

Draco gave a small smirk and pulled Hermione closer against him. She let her head rest against his chest and couldn't help but smile at being in his arms.

"I thought you were the brightest witch of your age?" he teased at her answer.

"Excuse me? As I recall you were a close second in marks when we were in school. Surely you should be able to find an answer to that question yourself." She sighed, trying to offer him more than her initial answer, "If it annoys you so much I suppose I could try avoid having other boys kiss me… but only if you avoid dates with your ex-girlfriend."

"If you call tonight a date – which I wouldn't – Pansy certainly had a terrible time. She got insulted by my friend, hit in the face with a book by my secret lover and I made leeks grow out of her ears."

"Remind me never to go on a date with you!" Hermione said through laughter.

When she had composed herself sufficiently Hermione pulled Draco into a kiss. It was soft and tender and her lips tingled at the feel of his; it felt good to be kissing him once more. They broke apart at the sound of someone calling her name. Hermione turned towards the sound as Draco stood to leave. She heard the snow crunch beneath his feet as he took a few steps away from her. Before Hermione could turn to say goodbye, she heard the sound of his disapparition. A few seconds later Ginny came into view and Hermione inwardly cursed the Weasley family for their timing.

"There you are!" Ginny waved at Hermione, her coat in hand, "Listen, I'm going to need to stay over at your place tonight. Ron's decided to stay over at our place for fear of Lavender and I'm not in the mood for either of the boys after their behaviour tonight. Luna's seeing Neville home; he got a nasty punch to the face during the brawl and George is waiting for the slugs to stop coming before he heads home."

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Hermione took her coat from Ginny as she spoke, "Let's get going shall we, it's starting to snow again."

Hermione slipped into the coat on as her friend disapparated. She turned and gave once last glance at Draco's footprints before she too disappeared back to London.


	14. Chapter 14

Hermione and Ginny arrived at her home wind-blown and flustered. Ginny danced around impatiently as Hermione unlocked the door; she moved to the side and let Ginny bound in from the cold. Hermione followed her in and closed the door behind her. She had just finished hanging their coats when she heard Ginny make a noise of confusion. Hermione turned to see Ginny giving her a look of mingled alarm and confusion as she pointed into the lounge. Hermione took a step closer to her friend and peered round into the lounge cautiously. She was greeted by a figured sprawled awkwardly on the couch, snoring loudly.

"Hermione, why is Blaise Zabini asleep on your couch? I know you guys are friendly at work but..."

Hermione crept forward to the couch as Ginny spoke. She poked Blaise on the arm to try and wake him, but he just blindly batted her away before rearranging himself into what looked like an even more uncomfortable position. She turned back to Ginny as she heard her friend's speech trail off. Ginny's eyes were wide and she was looking between the two.

"He was your secret boyfriend!" she said loudly as she pointed dramatically to Blaise.

"Shush! You'll wake him, Ginny! Or should I call you Rita?"

Hermione gave Ginny an annoyed looked, crossing her arms as she spoke. Ginny eyed her sceptically as she took up the seat opposite the couch.

"That's not an answer, Hermione."

"You didn't ask me a question. You made an assumption based on what you saw."

"Well why else would he be asleep on your couch?"

"Maybe we should ask him that?"

Hermione pulled out her wand and pointed it at Blaise, muttering the reviving spell. Blaise gave a snort as he opened his eyes blearily; he gave the two witches a confused look before gingerly pushing himself into a seated position. Blaise swayed slightly before bringing his hands up to cover his eyes. Hermione conjured a glass of water and pushed it against his arm. He accepted it gratefully and drank it all in one go before lying back down on the couch.

"Blaise, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked as she sat on the edge of the coffee table. She took the glass from Blaise and put it next to her.

"Don't want to go home." His words were croaky and dry, "Argument with parents."

Hermione reached forward and placed her hand on his knee, asking him what had happened. Ginny sat and observed the interaction quietly.

"They've arranged for me to marry Millicent Bulstrode. I told them I'd rather marry a hag. Needless to say this didn't go down very well, especially with her parents."

"How can they just tell you who you're marrying?" Hermione asked, shocked at the idea.

"Fear for the family bloodline – the usual pure-blood bullshit. I thought I was done this shit when her lover boy made Voldy kick the bucket." He jerked his head in Ginny's direction. The motion didn't agree with Blaise and he shut his eyes with a groan. He shot up from the couch and darted to the bathroom. Ginny gave a small look of disgust at the sound of his retching.

"You know, I wouldn't blame you if you had dated him. He's very good looking. If I wasn't with Harry I might venture some inter-house co-operation."

Hermione gave Ginny an over exaggerated look of disgust as she shoved her playfully. They sat and discussed what Blaise had just told them. Hermione wondered how many children of pureblood parents were in the same situation. No wonder Blaise had seen the bottom of a bottle – he either had to marry Millicent and be unhappy or face being disowned by his family. Ginny conceded that it was an unpleasant decision to make; especially when the bride-to-be looked ugly enough to make a mermaid cringe. Blaise had been quite for some time when Hermione decided to check on him. She found him asleep on the bathroom floor and called Ginny the help her levitate him up to the spare room. Hermione cast the spell and Ginny grabbed his head to stop it from knocking into objects; she waved at the air in front of her complaining of the stink of firewhiskey.

"I assume your house guest isn't to be mentioned to Ron or Harry?" Ginny asked as they slowly ascended the stairs.

"Considering how much of a git Ron was about me dancing with him at the Halloween ball, I'd say yes."

Ginny pushed open the door to the guest bedroom and went ahead to pull back the covers while Hermione positioned Blaise above the bed. Before she lowered him Ginny cast a quick cleaning spell over him. Blaise gave a snort as he hit the bed and immediately rolled onto his stomach. Hermione pulled the covers over him and conjured a bucket on the side of the bed.

"I'm going to go whip up a hangover potion for him to take in the morning. You're more than welcome to have a shower, Ginny; you know where everything is."

Ginny nodded before disappearing from the room. Hermione gave Blaise a small pat on the shoulder before diming the lights and making her way to the kitchen. She heard the water from the shower start to run as she pulled out her potion book and the necessary ingredients. Hermione chopped and added the ingredients until she had a small cauldron full of liquid bubbling away on the counter. Ten minutes later she was stirring in the final ingredients when Ginny entered the kitchen. Hermione's attention was distracted from stirring by Ginny shoving something on the counter next to her. She turned to look and felt panic course through her as her eyes fell upon the two pictures she had put in her chest of draws. Hermione whipped her eyes away from the photos to Ginny who held up Draco's quidditch jersey accusingly.

"Explain to me why I found this in your room!" she waved the jersey angrily in Hermione's face as she spoke.

Hermione's mind reeled as she scrambled to find some sort of plausible reason for the items. She knew Ginny would most likely see through anything she might offer her, so Hermione decided that it would be best to tell her the truth. Hermione took a deep breath before answering Ginny.

"I've been seeing Malfoy these past few weeks."

"WHAT?" Ginny roared in anger at her friend's confession, "How could you sleep with Malfoy? Of all the wizards in the world Hermione! MALFOY!"

Hermione grabbed her wand off the counter and used it to cast a silencing charm on the kitchen. She didn't need Blaise waking up and finding out about her and Draco as well.

"Ginny, please, calm down."

"CALM DOWN? You want me to be calm about finding out that you're sleeping with a former Death Eater! The very person who let the Death Eaters into Hogwarts! Whose aunt tortured you! Whose father tried to kill us in the Department of Mysteries!" Ginny threw the jersey at Hermione as she spoke, "Have you lost your mind, Hermione?"

"Do you think I haven't asked myself that? That I haven't wondered how any of what's happening between us could possibly come to pass after our history together? Why do you think I've kept it a secret?"

"What do you mean 'what's happening between us'? Is this serious? How long has this even been going on?"

Ginny threw her hands up in frustration as she started to pace back and forth across the width of the kitchen. Hermione looked down at her feet her heart welling with a mix of emotions; this was not how she wanted Ginny to find out. Ginny had stopped pacing and was scowling at Hermione.

"Well?" she asked, "Am I going to get an answer?"

"It started with the exchange of some memos before the Halloween ball." Hermione decided not to mention the attack to Ginny, feeling that it would only make the situation worse.

"Merlin! That means the article Skeeter wrote had some truth to it!"

"Ginny, that article was absolutely horrible!"

"Well it was pretty accurate about you getting your rocks off with that slimy Slytherin git!"

"Ginny, please," Hermione pleaded, "I don't want to fight with you about this. I never intended for any of this to happen; I never intended to upset you so much."

Ginny seemed to calm down after hearing the pleading tone of Hermione's voice. The two stood in quiet for some time. The potion continued to bubble away on the counter, occasionally breaking the silence between them with the sound of a bubble bursting. Hermione's chest felt heavy with the pain of seeing her friend so angry with her.

"You need to end it Hermione." Ginny said finally, "This relationship can't bring you anything good. Imagine what people would say about it; about you."

"I can't do that, Ginny." Hermione answered without thinking, "I don't want to end it. Whatever is going on between Draco and me, I'm enjoying it. It might not be perfect but it makes me happy."

Hermione let out a deep sigh and turned away from Ginny. She suddenly felt exhausted, having put into words what she had been grappling with over the last few days. She returned her gaze to Ginny when she heard her friend give her own sigh.

"Hermione, you have been one of my closest friends for years. It hurts me so much when you keep these kind of secrets from me. Last year you were with someone and you wouldn't tell me – still won't tell me – who they were; now I find out you've secretly been with Malfoy since October."

"I'm so sorry, Ginny!" Hermione said as she hugged her friend, she felt close to tears at the thought of how she had hurt her friend, "It was never my intention to hurt you. It was just easier to not say anything given how people feel about him. Even if it was just a once off thing, I highly doubt people would have understood."

Ginny took a step back from Hermione and took her hands, giving them a small squeeze. Hermione gave her a small, nervous smile which Ginny returned in full.

"I can't say that I understand your choice in him myself, but I'm not as stubborn as Harry or Ron. I want you to be happy. I'm sorry for how I reacted earlier, but like I said, it hurts when you keep secrets from me. That coupled with the shock of seeing you in a quidditch jersey – a Slytherin one no less – just got me so worked up."

Hermione laughed at Ginny's attempt to lighten the mood. She hugged her friend tightly once more. She appreciated Ginny so much in that moment. Ginny let go of Hermione and began to make them both a steaming mug of hot chocolate while Hermione busied herself with the potion for Blaise. Hermione gratefully accepted the mug Ginny handed to her as she spoke.

"Just so you know, Hermione, us coming to an understanding about this doesn't mean I'm going to be best friends with your boy toy."

"I would never expect you to. I will ask that you refrain from hexing him." Hermione said with a smile, "Unless he deserves it of course."

* * *

Hermione woke the next morning feeling much lighter now that at least one of her best friends knew about her and Draco. Ginny had reluctantly agreed not to tell anyone else, eventually agreeing it would be best to wait until a more appropriate time; neither thought it a good idea to tell Harry with all his stress from work or ruin Ron's continued good mood at his wife's pregnancy. Hermione slipped from the bed so as not to wake the still sleeping Ginny. She crept into the spare room to check on Blaise; he was still asleep, tangled up in the bed covers. Closing the door behind her, Hermione renewed the silencing spell on the room so they wouldn't wake him.

She made her way down stairs and put on a pot of coffee before starting on breakfast. Since she had guests, one of whom Hermione knew would have a horrendous hangover when they woke, she decided an old fashioned fry up was in order. She had just put some sausages on the stove when Ginny came into the kitchen; she gave a yawn before sniffing her way over to the cooking food.

"Smells like mum's been here." She commented as she poured herself a mug of coffee.

Hermione smiled at the compliment. They spent some time chatting while the remainder of the food cooked. When it was ready Ginny offered to set the table while Hermione went to wake Blaise. She reached the bottom of the stairs when she Blaise appeared, looking a bit worse for wear. He rubbed his face as he mumbled greeting to her and admonished her amused smile. Blaise followed her to the dinner table where Ginny had set out the food. Blaise grunted another greeting as he took the plate she handed him and sat unceremoniously at the table. Hermione wasn't sure if Blaise remembered their discussion about Bulstrode from the previous evening, if he did he certainly didn't seem to be interested in continuing it. He sat quietly and ate his food as Ginny and Hermione chatted with each other, each giving him side glances every now and then.

"Thanks for the breakfast, Hermione. I'll be going now – need to sort out everything at home. Should be a fun morning after yesterday afternoon." Blaise said as he moved to the lounge, nodding to Ginny as he moved past her.

Hermione followed him to the lounge and stopped him before he could leave. She gave him a concerned look which he answered with a hug. Blaise gripped her tightly and sighed before letting her go.

"Blaise, please don't agree to marrying Millicent Bulstrode. Even you aren't good looking enough to save any children that would come from that marriage."

They both laughed weakly at Hermione's attempt to lighten the mood.

"My answer hasn't changed, nor will it." He said taking the floo off the mantle, "Looks like I'll finally be moving out."

"I'll help you find a place if you need me to."

Blaise thanked Hermione and gave her a small kiss on the forehead before leaving in a roar of flame. Hermione turned back to the kitchen, saddened by what her friend was going through, wishing there was more that she could do for him. Ginny sensed Hermione's mood and made every effort to cheer her up. By mid-afternoon she had certainly succeeded with the pair laughing over memories from their days at school.

Hermione had just entered the kitchen in order to refresh their drinks when she heard a ring from the fireplace. She assumed it would be Harry coming to apologise to Ginny and so continued to fill their glasses.

"Hermione, your _boyfriend_ is here!" Ginny yelled from the lounge.

Hermione could have murdered Ginny; she knew that she was trying to embarrass her by calling Draco her boyfriend. She returned to the lounge to find Draco standing somewhat awkwardly at the fireplace. Ginny sat on the couch smirking proudly at her successful attempt at making Draco feel awkward.

"I'll just grab my things upstairs; I think I should get going. Give you two some _alone time_."

Ginny gave Hermione a naughty grin as she walked past her. Hermione gave her an exaggerated scowl in return. Draco was still standing at the fireplace, looking somewhat confused.

"Boyfriend?" he asked as he moved towards Hermione.

Hermione just rolled her eyes in exasperation as Draco wrapped his arms around her. Hermione tried to push him away from her but he simply pulled her closer. Out of frustration Hermione pinched him and Draco let go, rubbing the afflicted area as he gave her a look of fake outrage.

"Is that anyway to treat your _boyfriend_?"

"You are an insufferable git, Draco Malfoy!" Hermione said as she pointed threatening at his chest.

"Yes but I'm also Draco Malfoy your boyfr-"

Hermione cut off his teasing with a kiss. She wasn't sure if she like this lighter, teasing side of Draco – well not when the teasing was directed at her. Draco smirked before moving away from her when Ginny returned to the room. They gave each other stiff looks. Hermione wasn't sure if Ginny was going to hold up her promise of not hexing Draco unless he deserved it. Ginny turned to Hermione and smiled.

"Let me know when I can come say hello to your parents once they arrive, Hermione; it will be nice to see them again." She turned to Draco and gave him a vague goodbye before departing.

"I suppose we can add a second person who knows about us? She didn't seem too surprised to see me."

"She found your quidditch jersey last night. After some yelling and discussion she agreed to not tell anyone, so you don't have to worry about the rest of my friends finding out. It was quite careless of you to just show up like that today."

Draco shrugged off her scold. They spent some time discussing Blaise and what he might do. Draco told her that in no uncertain terms his parents would never accept his answer; Blaise's parents were arrogant and prideful and would never forgive the embarrassment that he brought on them in front of Millicent's parents. Draco gave a sigh and admitted that he should go to check on Blaise. Hermione nodded as moved to leave.

"Wait, you never said why you came over."

"I came to let you know that my mother has arranged for a small family holiday before we come back for Christmas dinner with the Parkinson's." he said, voice filled with contempt, "We leave on Tuesday, so I came to ask if you wanted to go for dinner on Monday."

"That would be nice." Hermione answered lamely.

Draco nodded and departed, leaving Hermione to contemplate the strange turn of events that led her to be going on a dinner date with Draco Malfoy. She smiled to herself as she realised that she was looking forward to it.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Sorry this chapter has taken so long. I took a small break to write something new (it's few chapters in, give it a gander) in an attempt to cure the writer's block I had about to how to proceed with this story but now I'm back! Let's go on a date! =)**

Hermione had spent the day fidgeting. Her leave had taken effect and it was still three days until her parents arrived. She desperately wished she had work to do _, anything_ substantial to do that would distract her. She was nervous about her impending date with Draco that evening. She sat on her bed staring at her cupboard, trying to decide what to wear. This was so unlike her, to be nervous about a date. Her mind began to drift into contemplating why that was. Yes, she had been nervous about her first date with Ron, but that had been more to do with the years of build-up – also Molly hadn't made it any easier with her excited faffing. Perhaps it was because this date with Draco was, to her, confirmation that something had shifted in their relationship; it meant she wouldn't be able to deny her feelings any longer. If she were to be honest with herself, she knew things had started to change that night he arrived at her place after the fight with his father. She put her head in her hands and smiled into her palms as she recalled what she had told Ginny. She had been truthful when she said their relationship had made them happy; she knew it had its flaw but what relationship didn't.

She decided not to overthink what to wear; she wasn't even sure what they would be doing. Hermione settled on a pair of smart jeans and the shirt she had borrowed from Draco. She straightened her hair before placing it in a high ponytail. After applying her usual, subtle makeup she pulled on a blazer and shoes. Hermione gave herself a once over in the mirror and smiled, satisfied with her appearance.

Hermione sat in the lounge and waited for Draco; he was late by twenty minutes. She huffed as she rearranged herself on the chair in which she sat. Throwing her legs over the one leg, she stared at the fireplace. _Just wait till gets here!_ She thought to herself angrily, as ideas of him standing her up crossed her mind. No, that was silly. She was being silly. Her brow creased into a frown as she heard her doorbell ring. Hermione hoped that it wasn't one her neighbours coming for a gossip; she was in no mood to hear about Mrs Murphy's wayward son again. She rearranged her face to hide her annoyance and moved to open the door. Hermione had to bite her lip in an attempt to stifle the grin that tried to force itself onto her face at what greeted her.

"What's so funny?" Draco asked as he offered her a single, red rose.

"Nothing!" She said through a giggle that slowly turned into a frown as she inspected the rose more closely, "Is that from my neighbour's garden?"

"If I say it is, are you going to call the Enforcement Patrol on me?"

"I think that would rather put a damper on the evening, so no." She said with a smile, "Why are you using the front door instead of the floo?"

"It's a first date. You can't just floo into a lady's home on such an occasion, it would be improper." Hermione gave him a sceptical look, "What? You know you're really ruining my attempt to woo you."

"I'm sorry," she said trying not to laugh at his use of the word 'woo', "it's just this isn't what I expected. I don't think I'd ever pictured you being the 'wooing' type. Come in while I grab my stuff."

She plucked the rose from his fingers and took it to the kitchen where she filled a vase before depositing it within. She returned to the lounge and placed it on the coffee table. She wasn't one for grand romantic gestures, in fact she wasn't particularly romantic at all, but Hermione couldn't help but give a small smile at the flower as she collected her purse and slipped on her coat. She really hadn't expected this from Draco.

"Why are you grinning like a school girl?"

"No reason. Shall we begin the _wooing_ as you say?" She slipped her arm under his as he held it out for her.

They walked towards the apparition spot near her house, Hermione asking Draco several times where they were going. He refused to say exactly where they were going. Hermione was starting to get worried. There weren't many places they could go without people knowing who they were. Draco obviously noticed the worried look on her face as they turned into the designated alley.

"Don't worry; I know we can't go anywhere public." He pulled her close and kissed her as they apparated.

* * *

Hermione frowned in confusion as she realised they had appeared in front of the Malfoy manor.

"Aren't your parents home?"

"No. I employed mother's help in securing the entire manor for the evening." He led her through the main gates as they opened for them, "Should the evening progress to more _intimate_ events, I put a password on the door leading to my wing of the manor."

"I'm offended that you think I would participate in such _intimate events_ on the first date." She tried not to smile, but she couldn't help but grin as he looked down and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"You underestimate my powers of seduction, dear Miss Granger." He said as he led her up the stairs to the grand front doors, "Also, I must add that mother insisted on Mopsy helping with tonight. I tried to refuse but Mospy wouldn't take no for an answer. Cheeky bugger even said that 'ladies such as Miss Granger expects more than peanut butter sandwiches'."

Hermione had to bite her lip to stop laughing at how Draco was taking clear offence at the insult to his cooking. He scowled at her when she pointed out that sandwiches were his staple food when Mopsy wasn't around to cook for him.

"What about your family portraits? I know you had the ones in your wing removed but what of the rest? Surely they would say something to your mother or father?"

"You don't have to worry about those. They were all moved to the entertaining rooms after my father got sick of them complaining about how far our family has fallen. None of them would dare complain in front of guests. The doors to those rooms stay firmly shut."

Hermione simply nodded as they made their way further into the manor. She blanched and froze outside a door as she recognised it from her nightmares – she would never forget that door; never forget what had happened behind it. It had been years but she swore she could feel the blade slicing freshly into her arm. She absent-mindedly brought her hand over her scar but was distracted by the feel of Draco's fingers on her cheek. She leaned into them slightly before looking up into his eyes; he gave her a small kiss on the forehead. His lips gently tickled her skin as he whispered to her gently.

"No one will hurt you like that again, Hermione – I promise you that. My aunt was, to put it mildly, a horrendous excuse of a person and you never deserved what she did to you. _Never_."

Hermione felt a wave of warmth and affection towards him in that moment. She gave him a small smirk.

"Although I wouldn't disagree with that statement, I think I have gotten adequate revenge on your aunt since Halloween."

"Well, my lady, may I say that I am certainly glad to have played a leading role in that revenge." He took her hand and continued to lead her through the manor. She gave a small chuckle knowing that the pain of her experience would never leave her, but at least it would be easier to bear.

"Where are we going?" Hermione asked, slightly confused. She had only ever seen Draco's wing and the barren passages leading to the kitchens.

"The library."

"Isn't the library in your wing?"

Draco turned to her and gave her a small look of amusement.

"The room we spent time working in was a study, Granger." He gave a small chuckle at the look of surprise on Hermione's face, "We're going to the main library."

They walked past one or two more rooms, doors all closed, before he stopped before a pair of double doors. Hermione was impressed by the beautiful engravings that spread across the dark wood. She traced her fingers over the Malfoy crest absently before looking up to see Draco gesture for her to open the doors. Hermione felt excited at the prospect of seeing what lay within. If the room she had assumed to be a library was only a study, she couldn't wait to see the _actual_ library. She gave a giddy smile as she pushed open the doors. A squeal of excitement escaped her as she laid eyes on the room. It was vast and smelt of parchment. Hermione breathed in the heavy scent of the library; she drank in the wonderful sight of shelves lined with books, shelves that went all the way to ceiling. Hermione moved through the room, fingers trailing over the love seats and armchairs that were scattered around the room. A grand desk took up the far corner; even from a distance Hermione could see it was of an exceptional quality.

"What do you think?"

"I think I could live in here. I'm sure your parents wouldn't notice." She turned to see him smiling at her from the door.

Draco gestured to the fireplace where a small coffee table held a series of mezze platters and some wine. Hermione hadn't noticed it in her initial awe. She turned back to Draco and raised an eyebrow.

"Food and wine in front of a fire? It's like something out of a short story in Witch Weekly."

"I'll be having food and wine in front of the fire - you'll be having free run of this." He gestured around at the books, "You don't think I would be so cruel as to bring you here and then make you sit and not touch anything."

Hermione felt like an excited child as she bounded towards him and threw her arms around his neck, her lips smacking forcibly into his. She gave him another quick peck before she let go of him and practically skipped over to the nearest shelf, running her fingers along the spines as she read their titles. She climbed a ladder to the taller shelves and found a book on runes that she had been dying to read. She turned to Draco, a smile on her face, to find him getting comfortable on an armchair near the fire. He raised his glass to Hermione and returned her smile. She couldn't remember a date that came close to this one; she was in heaven, surrounded by books and with a wizard that understood what they meant to her. From her vantage point on the ladder she watched as he flung his legs over the side of the armchair and began to nibble on some of the food Mopsy had set out. Hermione felt a small thought ghost across her mind and she quickly looked away. She continued to search the shelves wondering if what she had thought was indeed true. As she climbed down she stole another glance at Draco and smiled, realising that perhaps it was – maybe, just maybe she had fallen for him.

* * *

Draco refilled Hermione's glass of wine over her shoulder. She sat between his legs, surrounded by piles of books. Her shoes and blazer lay discarded near the fire. She withdrew her attention from the book she had been absorbed in to look at him over her shoulder.

"Why Draco, are you trying to get me drunk?" She gave him a playful smile as she took as sip, savouring the delicious taste of the deep red wine.

"Never." He gave her a sly grin. Hermione wondered if he had been this cheeky, this suave and playful at school.

"I should hope that you aren't treating me like all your other dates – buttering me up with wine and books so you can see me naked." Hermione said as she placed the wine glass back on the coffee table. She marked her place in the book with a small piece of parchment and placed it gently on a pile next to her.

"You overestimate the other women I've been with if you think they'd be interested in this room and its contents. Not that I would have brought them here in the first place."

She smiled and turned onto her knees taking the bottle from Draco's hands, placing it next to her glass of wine.

"Aren't I lucky? Getting to delve into the contents of the Malfoy family library."

"Luck has nothing to do with it, Hermione." He looked down at her and her stomach clenched at the sound of her name.

She smiled and pushed herself up to his lips and gently kissing him. He pulled her closer, deepening their kiss; his touch made Hermione's skin tingle beneath her shirt. She began to unbutton his shirt as he dipped his head to her neck, lacing the skin with kisses. Hermione couldn't help but let out a soft moan. Draco pulled her up onto his lap and began to unbutton her shirt, kissing her skin as he exposed it. She let her head fall back as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Hermione?"

She froze at the sound of her name. Draco paused and looked up to her before his eyes wandered over to the door of the library. Hermione turned and felt a sense of dread fill her chest when she saw Blaise's figure cutting through the light from the hallway. There was a look of mingled disgust and rage on his features. She scrambled off of Draco's lap and pulled her shirt closed.

"Blaise! I can explain… I… Blaise wait!"

Blaise turned on his heel and vanished from sight. Hermione stumbled after him, clumsily buttoning her shirt as she hurried out the library. She called after him along the passage ways but he refused to acknowledge her. Some of the doors in the passage were open; evidently he had been looking for Draco. Their light pooled into the passage and when Blaise passed through them Hermione could see the tension in his frame. She picked up her pace as he ducked into an unused receiving room. She grabbed his arm before he could get to the fireplace.

"Blaise, wait!"

Blaise stopped and looked down at her hand. Hermione could feel his muscles under his coat, they were tense. He turned to look at her face and she felt her stomach tighten as she saw the look of sadness in his eyes.

"Blaise, I'm sorry. I didn't want you to find out lik-"

"No, Hermione! Don't lie; we both know you wouldn't have wanted me to find out at all." His voice was strained with hurt as he turned towards her. "Why him? Why not me?"

"Blaise, we tried – it didn't work out." He brought his hands up to her face and she closed her eyes as he rested his forehead on hers. She let out a deep, sad sigh and brought her hands up to his wrists, "You know I will always ado-"

Her words were cut off by his lips pressing against hers. Hermione could feel his sadness, his desperation for her to be with him in the kiss. She leaned into his body as he pulled her closer. _Stop this_ , she thought to herself, but before she could push him back she felt him fly from her. She spun round in surprise to see Draco standing in the door way, his wand trained on Blaise. Hermione turned to see Blaise get to his feet from the floor, swearing at Draco. Draco kept his eyes on Hermione the entire time; she returned her focus to him and was shocked at the look rippling through them – a look that Hermione had never seen before. She let out a gasp of horror as she saw Blaise's fist make contact with Draco's face; he had been too busy staring at her to notice the swing. Blaise roared at his friend, words laced with fury.

"Fuck you Malfoy! She's too good for you!" He stood back to block a punch. Draco grabbed his shirt and slammed him against the wall as Hermione yelled at them to stop. Blaise continued to yell above her, "Your whole rubbish family nearly ruined her life! That evil bitch of an aunt tortured and scarred her! Your father tried to kill her and her friends at the Ministry! She has a nice souvenir from where one of his Death Eater pals nearly managed to do just that!"

He was spitting with rage by the end of his last words. Hermione saw the same anger mirrored in Draco's face. He turned to her and let go of Blaise, pushing him away.

"Get out." His voice was quiet and angry but it felt like to Hermione like he was shouting, "Both of you."

Blaise lifted himself off the wall and moved towards the fireplace. He turned and scowled at Draco.

"I actually came here to warn you that Potter made a connection between Hermione's case and the murder of the French ministry official." He turned to Hermione, "They compelled me to give your names. They'll be calling you in tomorrow for questioning. You two better get your stories straight."

Blaise threw took a small ornate box off the mantel and threw a handful of floo into the fireplace. Hermione tried to touch him but he pulled his arm from her reach and stepped into the fire, disappearing without so much as a backwards glance. Hermione turned to Draco as he held up his wand and called for her things. They stood in silence until he caught her belongings and threw them at her feet. Hermione moved over them, giving Draco a pleading look as he turned to leave.

"Draco, please. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry." He paused and looked over his shoulder at her, "It's going to take more than a 'sorry' to make up for finding _you_ – of all people, _you_ – kissing my friend in my own home, _Granger_."

The sound of her surname tore at her heart. She tried to move to him but he just held up his hand, halting her in her tracks. In that moment Hermione wanted for him to yell at her, to give her one of his trademark sneers from school but he only offered her silence as he turned and left. She gathered her things, biting back tears before turning to the fire place.

 _Of all people, you._

His words rung through her head as she stepped into the fire. She gave the doorway once last glance before she disappeared, the sound of the green flames echoing in the quite house.

* * *

Narcissa and Lucius arrived well after midnight. When Narcissa had suggested a quiet, romantic dinner away from the manor he had decided to rise to the occasion. He had taken her to a small, pure-blood establishment where they had had their first date as a married couple. He lamented that since the war they had been forced to become less _discerning_ about who they allowed in but it had been a pleasant evening none the less. Narcissa gave him a small kiss as they entered the manor through the main receiving room.

"I'm going to check on Draco. I will meet you in our room when I'm done." She gave him another small, suggestive smile as she disappeared through the door. Lucius smiled to himself as he followed, watching her turn down towards their son's wing. He moved towards their room but stopped at the sound of a male voice calling his name from one of the entertaining rooms. He sighed; it was no doubt one of ancestor's portraits wanting to complain about something. Even in death they weren't satisfied with anything he did. He stuck his head into the room from which the voice beckoned; it had come from his father's portrait.

"Boy. We need to talk." Abraxas Malfoy was as cold and condescending as ever.

"What is it, father?"

"Your son, my grandson. He's brought a mudblood into this home. I saw her running after that Zabini boy a short while after he opened the door to this room. The filth was dishevelled like a cheap whore."

"How can you be sure she was a mudblood, father?" Lucius asked as he came to face his father's portrait.

"It was that witch your sister-in-law brought to this room whilst we had the honour of hosting the Dark Lord. The one she branded. The one Bellatrix marked so the world would know what kind of filth she was."

Lucius's jaw clenched as he listened to his father. _The Granger girl._

"Thank you, father. I will handle this accordingly." He dare not forget who he was talking to in his anger.

He left the room, closing the door behind him. Fury filled his veins knowing that his son had turned into a blood-traitor, had besmirched their name with a mudblood whore - Potter's mudblood of all people! He stormed off through the manor, pausing at the junction which led to the separate wings of the manor before turning in his chosen direction. He threw open a door at the end of the passage.

"Lucius! You started me!" Narcissa gave him a scandalised look as she wrapped her nightgown around her. "What's wrong? You look angry."

"Nothing, my love." He said as he crossed the room and pulled Narcissa against him. He kissed her aggressively before pulling back and admiring her flushed face, "Nothing I can't fix."


	16. Chapter 16

At six sharp there came a peck at her window. Hermione lay in bed ignoring the sound, desperately wishing that it would go away. It simply got louder and more insistent. She rubbed her sleep deprived eyes and with great effort hauled herself out of bed and to the window. A very official and annoyed looking owl sat on her window's ledge, letter clutched in its beak. Hermione's heart dropped at the sight of the Ministry's seal. In the aftermath of last night she had completely forgotten about why Blaise had even been at the manor in the first place. She took the letter, her hand shaking slightly, from the owl; it gave her an annoyed look before setting off with a bit more wing flapping than was necessary. Hermione sank into her bed and peeled open the letter.

 _Miss H. Granger,_

 _Your presence is needed at a mandatory meeting concerning an active case. Should you fail to attend disciplinary measures will be taken against you._

It went on to list the time and venue. Hermione checked her clock to see that she still had some time before she would need to leave. She carelessly dumped the letter on her bedside table as she moved to the _en suite_. She turned on the shower before she peeled off her clothes from the night before and threw them in a pile next to the shower. Every part of her felt drained, physically and emotionally. Upon returning from Draco's she had paced the lounge and cried until, exhausted, she climbed the stairs and threw herself on the bed; she managed maybe only one or two hours of fitful sleep. She lifted her face to the shower and felt her skin flush as the water warmed it. Every part of her wanted to slide down to the floor and stay there for days as the water washed over her, but she knew she had to stay composed for the meeting. She took a bracing breath before turning off the water and leaving the safety of the shower.

* * *

Hermione had arrived at the Ministry early and so she sat alone in the meeting room, quietly staring at the table in front of her. Now that she was hidden from the eyes of her fellow coworkers she could rid herself of the fake smile she had been forced to wear. She looked up at the sound of someone entering and her heart fell as she saw Harry and the head of department for the Auror Department enter. He gave her a look of betrayal as he sat opposite her. She could only imagine what it must have felt like him to have to discover she was attacked by strange wizards and then saved by Draco through Blaise. She began to doubt her decision to keep it from him.

Her breath hitched as Draco and Blaise walked into the room soon after; both wizards acted as if the other wasn't there. Harry's superior gestured for them to take a seat on either side of Hermione. Once they had begrudgingly done so, a small magical recording device was placed on the table. Harry's boss spoke first. He listed the date, time and purpose of the meeting followed by the names of those present before turning his attention to Hermione.

"Miss Granger, please relay to us the events of the night you were attacked." His tone was official, crisp, unnerving.

"I was at a charity event. Drac- Mr Malfoy was also there with Mr Zabini. A reporter, employed by what magazine I cannot tell you, accused me of several unfounded actions. The conversation angered me and I stepped into the alley in order to get some fresh air and calm my nerves." She paused before continuing, "I heard a sound behind me but before I could react I was hit by a spell that impaired my senses. From that point my recollection is fractured."

"Please tell us what you can recall."

"I vaguely remember asking Mr Malfoy to take me somewhere safe, away from the reporters. The next thing I can recall is waking in his place of residence and requesting to be taken home. He told me that the healer who attended to me, Healer Pippins, insisted that I stay until morning – give myself sufficient time to recover. I chose to ignore this advice and he escorted me home through the floo network."

"What happened once you were home?"

"Mr Malfoy assisted me to my room before he left." She stole a nervous glance at Harry but he was pointedly avoiding her gaze, furiously scribbling notes.

"Thank you Miss Granger, I imagine it cannot be easy to relive the events once more. I do, however, need to ask why you requested to remain anonymous?"

"For the same reason the Ministry wanted to keep the French officials murder under wraps – fear of causing panic. I believed that given the media's habit of over embellishing stories concerning my life they might cause panic through the wizarding community if they were to report on the matter. I couldn't do that to my fellow witches and wizards after what Voldemort had done to them." She looked down into her lap as she finished.

"As commendable as that sentiment is Miss Granger, it may have hindered this investigation. As a result I am going to have to recommend some sort of disciplinary action against you. It will not be severe, most likely a suspension without pay. "

Hermione nodded in acknowledgement, her heart beating wildly. She had never faced any sort of disciplinary action at work. Coupled with last night's events she felt like she could have broken down into tears but she took a deep, steadying breath and kept her eyes on her lap. She hadn't even noticed that she was wringing her hands anxiously.

Attention was then turned to Draco. He gave his testimony, looking directly at the man in front of him.

"I had stepped out to get some fresh air when I heard the sound of voices coming from a nearby alley. I decided to investigate further, fearing that something unsavoury may have been happening."

"What gave you the impression that there may have been trouble a foot, Mr Malfoy?"

"I heard the male voices calling Miss Granger a mudblood," Harry's eyes snapped up at the sound of the word but Draco continued, "One suggested that she 'be put in her place' by a real pure blood wizard."

Hermione let out a little sound of distress. Draco had never told her the details of the night and her mind reeled at the thought of what may have happened had he not saved her. She was startled by the thud of a hand against the table. She turned to see Blaise with his hand fisted on the table, arms tense with anger.

"Mr Zabini, I know the implications of what the wizard said are utterly horrendous but for the sake of this meeting I am going to have to ask you to control yourself. Mr Malfoy, please continue."

Blaise nodded in acquiescence, his jaw tense. Hermione could see Harry's figure out the corner of her eye; after so many years of friendship Hermione could see the sign of her friend repressing a rage. Draco continued to answer the questions posed to him, focusing only on the person asking them. Hermione couldn't help but give him a few careful glances. He looked drained, as if he hadn't slept. Hermione wanted nothing more than to pull him close and hold him. She was so absorbed in Draco that she hadn't even noticed that they had moved to questioning Blaise. She gave a small start when she heard his voice. Her eyes flicked away from Draco to Harry. He was observing her closely and she blushed as she realised he must have seen her looking at Draco; hopefully he would chalk it up to nerves. She turned her attention to a small scuff on the table, Blaise's answers washing over her. Hermione was abruptly brought back to reality by the sound of Harry and his boss began to pack up their papers.

" – will be brought in on this case. You are to hand over any other active cases to Higgins." She saw Blaise nod at his head of department, "Miss Granger, Mr Malfoy you will be hearing from us soon."

The two wizards stood and left; Harry paused and shot a quick look at Hermione before she disappeared into the depth of the Ministry. Blaise stood to leave, looking at neither Hermione nor Draco. Hermione felt a small pang of sadness; she needed to fix things – she couldn't lose both of them, they meant to much to her. Before she could think things through, formulate a plan of attack she stood and caught his arm just before he reached the door. He turned his attention to her for the first time since the meeting had started.

"Blaise wait. We all need to discuss what happened last night." When he didn't respond she added, "Please Blaise."

Blaise let out an annoyed sigh before pulling his arm away from her grip. Hermione felt relief as he turned back to the table, mumbling under his breath the entire time. She close closed the door behind him as turned to see Draco sitting and observing her, his face impassive.

"I want to apologise to the both of you. Last night would never have happened if I had just been honest with you. Draco, Blaise and I dated briefly last year. No one knew, although many of my friends suspected that I was seeing someone. I'm sorry I never told you. Blaise and I have only been friends since then – nothing more, I assure you. That kiss shouldn't have happened. I should have stopped him but I didn't and I have to face up to that."

Draco's face remained impassive through all that Hermione said to him. When she was done he said nothing in response. Hermione felt unnerved by the look that he was giving her; she hesitated briefly before turning her attention to Blaise. In contrast to Draco, Blaise was fidgeting, clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

"Blaise, I've been seeing Draco since Hallow-"

"Halloween? You've kept this from me since Halloween?" Blaise's words tumbled from him, fast and angry, "How can you even be with him? He's probably just using you for a quick shag every now and then!"

"Blaise!"

"No, Hermione! Listen to me! He uses women. I haven't seen him in a proper relationship for years; if not ever!"

"BLAISE!" Hermione knew he was only trying to protect her from what he thought was a threat but she couldn't help be filled with anger at his accusations, "I started this! I went to him on Halloween! How dare you just assume he's using me for… for… _a quick shag_ when you know nothing about what is happening between us!"

"Then enlighten me! Tell me all about this wonderful relationship you two have because I sure as hell have no idea why you would be together given your history!"

"And what about _our_ history together, Blaise! You weren't innocent yourself! You were just as disdainful towards me in school! Yet you changed; you are now one of my dearest friends! Did you ever imagine that would happen? No!"

"I'm not an ex- Death Eater! I don't have a family tried to kill you more than once!"

"Draco _is not_ his family! He's changed! Besides do you think that I haven't thought about that? OF COURSE I HAVE! None of that changes the fact that he makes me happy! None of that changes the fact that I love him!"

A look of utter defeat and sadness filled Blaise's eyes as he heard Hermione's words. She opened her mouth to continue speaking but he just closed his eyes and shook his head before standing and exiting abruptly. Hermione made to follow him but she stopped at the sound of Draco's voice.

"Let him go."

Hermione had almost forgotten his was there; she span around as he stood from his chair. Her heart was pounding as she realised she had expressed her feelings for him in an argument with his best friend. She had admitted a feeling she had barely been aware of, but now she had said the words she couldn't deny that they were true. She looked Draco in the eyes, uncertain of what he might say, what he might do with her revelation.

"I'm sorry, Draco. I really am. I would nev-"

"Say it again. Say it without the anger, without the impulsiveness."

Draco's words were quiet, commanding and they made Hermione feel like her chest might explode with excitement, desire, happiness; an entire wealth of emotions.

"I love you." She said simply.

Before Hermione could compose her thoughts Draco had crossed the space between them and taken her face in his hands, pressing his lips against hers. Hermione brought her arms around his neck, lacing her fingers through his hair. She pressed hard into the kiss, desperation for him filling her. He answered her with a vigour that she had never felt from him before. He took his hand from her face and reached into his pocket. Hermione heard the door close as her moved her over to the wall, lifting her as she wrapped her legs around his waist; her skirt rode up her leg and she let out a small sound of desire as he grabbed her one leg, pressing hard into her flesh with his fingers. Hermione fumbled hurriedly at this belt as he moved his lips to her neck. He slipped aside her underwear before bringing himself to meet her. Hermione let out a throaty moan, her eyes closing as her head rolled back onto the wall, fingers digging into his back. She wanted to melt into him, wanted to feel every part of him. Desire pooled in the pit of her stomach as his name escaped her in a lusty breath. She felt him pull back and she opened her eyes to see him smirking at her. Hermione couldn't help but mirror the expression before he took her lips, desire fuelling his kiss. Every movement felt like it would be her end. She prayed to Merlin he had put up a silencing spell. The pleasure that flooded Hermione took her by surprise; her fingers dug into his back as she tensed in Draco's arms, before dissolving with a loud moan. It didn't take long before she felt Draco tense, his movements slowing, stuttering, and his breath becoming ragged. He collapsed against her and they slid down the wall, landing in a dishevelled heap on the floor. Hermione let out a small, quiet laugh.

"Something funny, Hermione?" He said into her chest.

Hermione could help but giggle more as she felt him kiss her chest gently. It felt like happiness flowed from every place where he touched her. They sat, wrapped in each other for a few more moments before Draco started to disentangle himself from her.

"We better get going. I'm not particularly keen on another awkward discovery – especially since my face is still smarting from the last one."

Hermione reached out and gently brushed the spot where Blaise had struck him. He kissed her hand before standing and helping her up. They straightened themselves up, Hermione fixing Draco's hair before sneaking in a small peck on the lips. He replied with a cheeky smile before turning to leave.

"I have to leave immediately for the _lovely family vacation_ mother has planned." He opened the door with his wand, "Don't think this conversation is over."

"I would hardly say it was a conversation." Hermione said with her own cheeky smile, "Still, I certainly enjoyed it."

"As did I, Hermione." With that he disappeared from the room.

Hermione bit her lip to supress the ecstatic smile that was fighting its way to the surface. Even with all that had transpired during the meeting she couldn't help but feel happy. Draco hadn't said the words but she had felt them laced into every touch, every kiss. She took a breath before she ducked from the room. As she hurried to the floo network, absorbed in thought, she failed to notice shocked pair of eyes that had just witnessed her and Draco leave the room.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: My apologies for the extended time period between chapters; I've been otherwise occupied with work. This chapter is a bit of a short one but I hope you enjoy it none the less!**

Hermione was busy with her cleaning when Ginny arrived. She didn't like the stern look Ginny was wearing – it usually appeared right before she gave Harry a talking to. Hermione sighed and braced herself for the onslaught. She sent her feather duster back into the cleaning cupboard with a flick of her wand. Harry had obviously told her about yesterday's meeting.

"Explain yourself Hermione Jean Granger!"

"Harry told you about yesterday, I suppose?" She knew there was no point in delaying her chewing out. Much like her mother, Ginny did not beat about the bush when it came to reprimanding people.

"He did! Why didn't you tell me about being attacked when I confronted you about Malfoy?" Her eyes narrowed at the look on Hermione's face, "Oh no! Don't you even try give me that look! It doesn't work for Harry and it won't work for you!"

Ginny deflated somewhat as Hermione apologised, Harry's "please don't be angry look" still firmly in place. "Hermione, this is serious! This is the second thing that you've kept from me."

Hermione sighed. "I know and once again I can only offer you an apology. I was just so afraid that if people found out it was me that was attacked that it might cause panic. I don't want it to go back to how it was. I can't go back to the fear, the paranoia."

Hermione gave her a look of genuine sadness. Ginny pulled her into a tight hug.

"I understand that fear, Hermione, but you can't protect everyone. You fought hard to destroy Voldemort. Let someone else fight for a change. I don't think hiding this from people will end in anything good. Besides, I think you might be underestimating the witches and wizards you're trying to protect. People came out of the war stronger than before. " She squeezed her hand tightly, "If people do find out all you have to do is announce who you're currently playing naked quidditch with and no one will care you were attacked."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh. "Naked quidditch? Honestly Ginny! I think me being attacked would be more of a story than who I'm sleeping with."

Ginny gave her a sceptical look before typing on an imaginary type writer. "Hermione Granger, darling of the Golden Trio, was attacked by strange wizards in an alley. The event drove her into the arms of former Death Eater and Slytherin bad boy Draco Malfoy. We take a look at what their children will look like." Ginny gave her a wicked grin before getting out some wine. "Personally I believe they would be adorable. Brainy and good looking – some real competition for whatever Harry and I produce."

As Ginny had the following day off and insisted that Hermione give up her cleaning (she argued that it was pointless given that her flat was already spotless) in order to have a girl's night – just the two of them and some wine, like they used to do. They sat and chatted about Ginny's wedding for a while, with Ginny mostly complaining about how her mother wanted to have butterflies released when she and Harry kissed. Hermione suspected Molly was trying to live out her dream wedding though her daughter but didn't say anything.

After a few glasses of wine they changed out of their clothes into something to sleep in. Ginny had found Harry's old quidditch shirt and put it on, insisting that Hermione wear Draco's. Giggling from all the wine, Hermione happily put it on before picking up a pillow and hitting Ginny with it, insisting it was to get into character – they were wearing the jerseys of two boyhood nemeses after all. The witch scowled back at her.

"I'm going to ignore that and get some more wine."

"There isn't any."

"Well then, we need to go get more!" Ginny said dramatically.

"I'm not going out like this Ginny!" Hermione objected as she was pulled down the stairs to the fireplace.

"We aren't going out."

Hermione didn't like the sound of that. She was even less enthused when Ginny pulled her into the fireplace with her. She was about to object when Ginny yelled "Malfoy manor" over her. She gave her friend a scandalised look before they were sucked down.

* * *

They stumbled out into the main receiving room.

"Ginny!" Hermione scolded, "You're lucky the Malfoy's are away on holiday! If Lucius or Narcissa saw us they would have us arrested for trespassing!"

"Relax!" The witch giggled. "Show me Malfoy's room!"

Hermione gave her a pained look before nodding towards the door. She knew that Ginny would just run amok without her if she didn't guide her. They tip toed quietly through the manor till they got to Draco's wing. Hermione was terrified that one of the portraits might hear them. She gave the password and opened the door leading to the main passage. Ginny pushed past her and skipped to the various doors, opening them to see what was behind them. She turned back to Hermione and laughed.

"I can't believe your dating someone who has an entire wing of a mansion to himself. How many rooms have you played snake tamer in?"

"Ginny! Honestly, you have a few drinks and you turn into some sort of borderline sex pest!"

"Oh come on, Hermione! I couldn't ask this stuff about Ron, now could I? Now _that_ would have been sex pest worthy." She shuddered at the thought of finding out information concerning Ron's sex life.

"I'm not telling you about my sex life. You can read about it in Witch Weekly like everyone else." Ginny stuck out her tongue playfully and continued her searching.

When she found his study Ginny immediately poured them two generous glasses of firewhiskey. Hermione took hers, gulping a large portion of it down. She was still somewhat uncomfortable with the situation. Ginny just laughed and left to find Draco's room, firewhiskey bottle in hand. Hermione eyed the cabinet in which Draco kept his wine and whiskey. _May as well_ , she thought to herself. She scribbled a little note to him to let him know where his wine had disappeared to.

 _My knight in shining armour,_

 _Once again you aid me in a time of need._

 _Ginny and I needed some wine._

 _I'll repay you in kind when you get back from your holiday._

 _H_

She doodled a little heart with their initials in the centre. She smiled proudly at it before folding the note and placing it where the wine had been. She bundled three bottles under her arms and went to find Ginny. It didn't take very long. She followed the sounds of girlish giggling to find Ginny jumping up and down on Draco's bed.

"Ginny! How old are you?" Hermione put the bottles down on the dresser. "Get down!"

"Don't be such a bore!" She said between jumps. Hermione paused, before breaking into giggles and joining her friend on the bed. They laughed hysterically as they bounced. "This bed must be fantastic fo-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Ginerva Weasley!" Hermione jumped onto her friend, bringing them both tumbling down onto the bed. They continued to laugh. "Come on, let's get going."

"Fine! Fine!"

They disentangled themselves from each other and remade the bed. Hermione picked up the wine and headed to the fireplace. She shook her head disapprovingly at the bottle of firewhiskey Ginny had clutched in her hand. The witch just shrugged at her before Hermione disappeared in green flames.

* * *

Once they had returned they ordered pizza from a nearby takeout and settled on the couch, talking for a long while.

"So tell me, why were Blaise and Malfoy acting weird at the meeting? Harry seemed to think it had something to do with you. I had to use all my womanly powers to distract him from the topic, least her figure something out." Hermione screwed up her nose in exaggerated disgust as she tried to pour another glass of wine. The bottle was empty so she opened their last one clumsily. There was still firewhiskey, but she hoped Ginny would call it a night before they got into it.

"Don't ignore me, 'Miowne."

"Blaise may have found out about me and Draco." Hermione tried to sound nonchalant as she took a sip of wine.

"And why would that upset him?" Ginny asked in faux innocence. She extended the "m" as she tilted her head and twirled her hair. Hermione tried to avoid her gaze as she continued to repeat a questioning "hmmmm". Hermione knew Ginny had probably figured out the truth but she was waiting for her to confirm it.

"We dated." She replied quietly into her glass as she took another sip of wine.

"Sorry? What was that Hermione?"

"I dated him last year."

"I knew it! I knew it!" Ginny yelled as she jumped up on to the couch. Hermione pulled her down, causing her to nearly spill some of her wine. Ginny raised her one eyebrow and giggled. "So how was it? He's so fit."

Ginny looked away and giggled again. Hermione gave her a small, playful shove. "You're marrying my best friend."

"I know and I love him dearly but you can't deny how fantastically hot Blaise is."

"He's fantastic at other things as well!" Hermione slapped her hand over her mouth in surprise at her own words. Ginny burst into laughter and fell back on the couch. It took her a few minutes to gain some composure before she propped herself up on her elbows.

"Why did that make Malfoy angry?"

"There may have been a kiss shared between myself and Blaise. It was a weird mome-"

Ginny didn't allow her to finish. She pushed Hermione with her foot. "You floosy bint!"

Hermione knew she was teasing but she gave her a scandalised look none the less. The two of them descended into further giggles.

* * *

Hermione could hear her name being called quietly and someone shook her gently. Her head was pounding and the motion made her feel slightly ill. She swatted the hand away and slowly opened her eyes with a groan. She gave Blaise a confused look.

"What are you doing here?" She sat up slowly pushing Ginny's leg off of her. At some point in the evening they had decided to go to bed. One of them had evidently thought it would be a good idea to sleep head to foot.

"I was out and when I got home this guy was waiting for me." He pointed to his shoulder. Hermione squinted and Pig came into focus. He was sleeping, letting out a small hoot every now and then. "He had a message from you saying that I had to come over immediately. It said it was urgent."

"I didn't send an owl." She paused. She wasn't too sure if that was the truth so she shook Ginny awake.

"Wassat?" Her friend grunted. She gave Blaise a confused look. " 'S Blaise Zabini. Why is he here? Where did you get my owl?"

"You sent him to me."

Ginny seemed to find this very funny and she giggled. "Yeah I did!"

Blaise gave her a sceptical look before asking Hermione if they could talk in private. He helped her up and to the lounge. Pig continued to sleep on his shoulder the entire time. Once they were seated he unfurled the letter he had received and handed it to Hermione. She cringed as she read it.

 _Mr Blaise Zabini,_

 _Your urgent present is requested at my abode._

 _Hermione_

 _PSSS YOU ARE TOTALLY FIT_

The final line was written in Ginny's handwriting.

"Well my present is here." He teased. Hermione scowled at him. "And it's totally fit."

"That was Ginny."

"So you don't think I'm fit? That's rather rude."

"Stoppit Blaise." He chuckled at her before scratching Pig gently.

"You're in a good mood. I thought you were mad at me?"

"I was. It wasn't easy seeing you with Draco but I thought it over. I can't say that I'm suddenly okay with it but I do know that I wouldn't want to lose you over him, you're much too important to me. So I have decided to swallow my pride and deal with the situation. Besides, the brightest witch of her age can't surely be a fool in love, can she?" Hermione moved over to him and leant her head against his chest but not before she gave him a strong jab with her finger. Blaise hesitated for a moment before putting his arm around her and squeezing tightly. "Maybe in time we can double date. I'm sure Bulstrode would love that."

Hermione sat bolt upright. The motion did not agree with her pounding head and so she had to return her head to its original position. "Blaise Zabini, you better not be telling me you're going to marry that… that... woman!"

"I'm joking my little Gryffindor princess! No amount of heartbreak could push me into those arms."

"Don't call me that!" Hermione gingerly pushed herself up to a seated position. She definitely needed to find make some hangover potions soon. "Are your parents still going to disown you?"

"Well considering that all my belongings are currently stuffed into a room at the Three Broomsticks, I would say that is the case."

"You can't stay there. Come here till you find a place to stay. I'll help you find a decent one."

"I can't do that, Hermione. A few days ago I would have leapt at that opportunity but now..." Blaise gave her sad look. Hermione felt awful knowing that she was responsible for the sadness she saw. "I won't say no to your assistance in finding a new place to stay. Merlin knows I would end up in the bad part of Knockturn Alley and think it was nice without it."

Blaise stood and walked to the kitchen. Hermione couldn't understand how Pig was _still_ fast asleep on his shoulder. She had never known the owl to be anything but an explosion of sound and feathers. She soon followed into the kitchen when the wonderful smell of a hangover potion brewing wafted into the lounge. As she breathed in the comforting smell of the potion she couldn't help but wonder if maybe she had been wrong about her friends and how they would react to her being with Draco. Yes, there had been a few _hiccups_ here and there but once the initial shock had subsided they seemed more accepting than she had ever expected.

By the time Ginny arrived downstairs, Blaise had begun to cork the potions. Pig was in the lounge fluttering around the room making excited trilling noises. She groaned loudly as she entered the kitchen and went straight for the cup of coffee in Hermione's hands completely unaware of Blaise's presence. Hermione swotted her away from her mug.

"Get your own Ginny!"

"I'll pour her one."

Ginny froze at the sound of Blaise's voice. Evidently she had forgotten about him waking them earlier. She smiled and nodded her thanks to before turning back to Hermione and giving her a " _why in Merlin's name is Blaise Zabini here"_ look that made her laugh. Any confusion she had seemed to have disappeared once he handed her a large mug of coffee.

"There you go, Future-Mrs-Potter."

"You can call me Ginny."

Blaise picked up a bottle of the hangover potion to offer to her. He extended it to her, a wicked smile forming on his lips. His air suddenly changed to one that Hermione knew very well. She raised her eyebrows at him.

"You can call me _totally fit_." He gave Ginny a naughty wink. Hermione burst out laughing but Ginny turned a bright red. With as much dignity as she could muster Ginny took the potion from Blaise's hand and made an attempt at a graceful exit. Hermione laughed even harder when she scowled at her before dashing back up the stairs once out of sight. Pig happily followed her up the stairs.

Once Hermione had composed herself she took the potion Blaise held out for her. "You are an utter terror, you know that Blaise?"

He just smiled and shrugged innocently. She it would take him time to really come to grips with her relationship with Draco, but for now Hermione was just glad to have her friend back.


End file.
